By Staff Reporter
Windhoek
The Walvis Bay Corridor Group last week held an information meeting in Lusaka, Zambia, to create awareness on the utilisation of the Trans Caprivi Highway that links the land-locked countries such as Zambia to the port of Walvis Bay.
In attendance were the Zambia Association of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Jerome Kawesha, Zambian Deputy Minister of Communications and Transport, Mubika Mubika, Nelson Nyangu from the Zambian Ministry of Communications and Transport, Richard Frege the First Secretary of the Namibian High Commissioner to Zambia, and Johny Smith, the Business Development Executive of the Walvis Bay Corridor Group. Also in attendance were road haulers, freight forwarders, importers and exporters and government agencies.
Mubika said the Zambian government “is working towards improving the transport infrastructure throughout the country and major corridors to boost international trade”.
Mubika said the governments of Zambia and Namibia are committed to the enhancement of transport infrastructure along the corridor. He singled out the expansion of the Walvis Bay port and the extension of the railway from Grootfontein to the Zambian border.
The Zambian government is also constructing a railway line that would link Livingstone to the Namibian boarder.
NamPort, the Walvis Bay Corridor Group and Manica Zambia made various presentations. The presentations reflected the competitive advantages of utilising the Trans Caprivi Highway, the completion of the Katima Mulilo Bridge connecting Namibia and Zambia, new customs procedures implemented at the Katima Mulilo and Sesheke border posts, the implementation of the Automated System of Customs Documentation system and the upgrading of the Divundu Bridge. The meeting took place on May 15.
Cargo volumes on the Trans Caprivi Highway have increased by 150 percent since the completion of the Katima Mulilo Bridge in May 2004.