Zambia seeks more capital for development of trade routes to boost regional growth, food security

Transport and Logistics Minister, Frank Tayali, has called for more capital injection in key trade and corridor infrastructure upgrades to enhance regional economic growth.

Tayali is part of the Zambian Washington delegation currently attending the 2023 World Bank Group-International Monetary Fund Spring Meetings in Washington D.C,United States.

He said in a statement that there was a need to unlock the capital needed to realise the full development potential of key corridors as important trade routes for both economic growth and food security.

“Zambia’s central geographic location in the Southern African Development Community (SADC) region has presented an opportunity for the country to be exposed to multiple import and export trade and transport corridors,” Tayali stated.

The Zambian minister said this during an event on “Unlocking Financing Opportunities and Development Potential of Key Corridors in Africa”.

He said transport corridors that Zambia has among them; Dar-es-Salaam Corridor linking the Democratic Republic of Congo and Zambia’s Copperbelt Province, the North South Corridor linking Durban with DRC/Zambia via Zimbabwe and Botswana.

Others are Malawi via Harare, the Lobito Corridor connecting Zambia to the Democratic Republic of Congo and Angola to the Port of Lobito on the Atlantic Ocean for Western import and export markets in the United States of America and Europe.

Read more: Zambia, other debtor countries hold roundtable debt restructuring talks in Washington. DC.

“The Nacala Corridor linking Zambia and Malawi to the Nacala Part in Mozambiaque which is one of the deepest ports in SADC; the Beira Corridor linking large parts of Zambia, Malawi, Zimbabwe and Mozambique to the port of Beira on the Indian Ocean; and the Walvis Bay Ndola Lubumbashi Development Corridor links the Port of Walvis Bay with Zambia, the Democratic Republic of Congo and Zimbabwe,” Tayali said.

He said economic and transport corridors were critical for the development of nations like Zambia.

“This is especially the case for land locked countries that need to access inputs for production or regional and global markets,” Tayali said.

He further told the meeting that countries need to start engaging to actualize the benefits of the corridors.

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