The African Development Bank’s (Af DB) latest regional integration strategy for southern Africa aims to eliminate freight bottlenecks through multimodal economic corridors with a view to connecting centres of production (growth poles) with markets (regional and global).This strategy will promote the development of agriculture, industries and services in close proximity to required infrastructures according to the Af DB.It also aims to reduce the high logistics costs in the region.According to the strategy, costs are compounded by missing links in major corridors, cumbersome border posts, and poor connectivity of agricultural production areas to the markets due to poor rural infrastructure. An SADC study estimates that lengthy border transit delays experienced on the North-South corridor between Durban and Lubumbashi adds at least US$1 250 per truck to transportation costs.Regional trade could benefit from dynamic regional corridors between landlocked areas and outlets on the coast, according to an assessment by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OE CD). “Indeed, the poor quality of Africa’s transport infrastructure accounts for 40% of logistics costs in coastal countries and 60% in landlocked countries,” it states.Harbour development is an essential component of the strategy. “This corridor approach includes the development of marine routes to address specific needs of island countries by linking them to and promoting trade with the mainland, as well as boosting the blue economy,” according to the Af DB.On the continent, the three high-priority corridors are the North-South Corridor, the Maputo Corridor and the Dar es Salaam Corridor. In addition, the Southern Africa RISP 2020-2026 has adopted a multimodal-road, rail, power-corridor approach to support regional connectivity, including through the Nacala, Walvis Bay, Northern Mtwara and Lobito corridors, within the context of the AU’s trans-A f r ica Highway. “The expanded Walvis Bay port is a major component of the corridor system, especially in providing access to landlocked countries in the region,” states the Af DB.Regional operators are responding to the call to upgrade infrastructure.Mozambique’s parastatal Ports and Railway Company (CFM) has started upgrading the railway line between the Port of Beira and Machipanda on the border with Zimbabwe.Work began in late 2020 and is expected to be completed by 2022, according to the chairperson of the CFM Board, Miguel Matabel.Speaking during an official visit to the project, Matabel said the track capacity would be increased from 40kg per metre to 45kg/m, with the line capable of handling 80-ton wagons.It is just one link in a 22 000-km regional railway system managed by seven national railway companies. According to the Af DB, a “substantial” part of the network does not comply with the SADC standard of 18.5 tons per axle load. Poorly maintained and outdated infrastructure in the region is constraining the economic growth needed to create jobs, according to the Africa Regional Integration Index. The average score of the Southern African Development Community (SADC) is pulled down by gaps in regional infrastructure. South Africa achieves a near-perfect score, but the next two performers, Seychelles and Mauritius, score far below and the bottom five performers (the DRC, Eswatini, Lesotho, Madagascar, and Tanzania) score near zero. Landside access has been identified as the biggest challenge facing most ports in the region and the rest of the continent. “In the case of many, the issue of landside access is more important than improving maritime access and capacity. There are three main constraints: (1) limited or no intermodality; (2) limitation in the quality of the road infrastructure, and delays at the border-crossing points; and (3) congestion at the port-city interface,” according to a World Bank report on port development in southern Africa.The poor quality of Africa’s transport infrastructure accounts for 40% of logistics costs in coastal countries and 60% in landlocked countries.– AfDB report“
