Upgrades to the ports serving Zambian importers and exporters are improving connectivity for the country, which wants to establish itself as the central logistics hub for the region.Starting from the east, Dar es Salaam, which is linked through the 1 860-km Tazara rail line and road, is positioning itself as the “regional port of choice”.Starting in 2017, some $421 million has been invested in the Dar es Salaam Maritime Gateway Project. The upgrade has seen the draught at berths 1-7 increased to 14.5 metres.A new ro-ro berth has also started operating.Included in the gateway project are dredging of the entrance channel, turning circle and harbour basin, and the strengthening and deepening of berths 8-11.Results are already being felt. According to container terminal operator Tanzania International Container Terminal Services (TICTS), it had a record month in March when it handled over 61 236 TEUs. “This record is on the back of a peak season of agricultural exports and strong local and transit demand,” the company says in a statement.TICTS has invested around R90 million in new equipment, including rubber-tyred gantry cranes and reach stackers in the first half of 2022 alone, according to the company.Further south, the port of Nacala and Nacala Logistics corridor rail link to Tete province have changed ownership from Brazilian mining group Vale to India’s Jindal Group subsidiary Vulcan.Jindal has subsequently shifted exports from its coal mine in Chirodzi to Nacala from Beira.In June this year the Port of Beira took delivery of a new dredger that will be used to maintain berth draught, according to Emodraga, the official dredging company of Mozambique.In a blog, LBH Mozambique described the arrival of the dredger as a “game changer”.“LBH Mozambique, together with other port users, are very excited to see the positive effect the ‘Estoril’ will have to maintain the berth depths at Beira port going forward,” it states.“In addition to the investments in the Port of Beira, we are investing in the expansion of the Machipanda Railway, an infrastructure that will give new impetus to the connection between the Port of Beira and neighbouring Zimbabwe. “In this context, we urge all operators in the logistics chain in this corridor to fully exploit the potential that we are installing and, at the same time, to maximise our comparative advantages,” Mozambican transport and communications minister Janfar Abdulai said at the official ceremony to welcome the dredger.Zambian exporters are also eyeing Maputo, which is attracting volumes from Durban.Container terminal operator DP World says it is “on track” to expand the container terminal’s capacity to a million TEUs a year.Durban, long the main gateway for Zambia, is losing favour due to inefficiencies, attacks on truck drivers and general lawlessness in South Africa. However, Transnet has announced plans to turn Durban into a “world-class” container shipping hub through the expansion and modernisation of the Pier 2 container terminal.To the west, Zambian shippers have the choice of Walvis Bay and Lobito.Operations in the modern container terminal of Walvis Bay are being concessioned, which it is hoped will improve efficiencies within the port, which is reporting growing traffic to and from the Copperbelt.Lobito is an outlier, with the potential to attract freight from the other ports.It is linked to Zambia via the Benguela railroad, and is described as “the quickest route for copper, cobalt and other ores from Zambia, the Democratic Republic of Congo and beyond”.In July this year the Angolan government awarded a consortium consisting of Vecturis, Trafigura, Singapore, and Portuguese construction group Mota-Engil and Belgian private operator Vecturis a 30-year concession to operate and maintain the Lobito corridor.Terms include increasing volumes to 1.67 million tons of freight a year by the fifth year of the concession, rising to 2.98m tons by Year 10, and 4.98m tons by Year 20.There is an option to extend the contract by a further 20 years should the concessionaire commit to construct a branch from Luacano to Jimbe, Zambia.
