Landlocked but Not Lost

8/6/2019 Landlocked but Not Lost

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Landlocked

But not lostSouthern AfricanTransport corridors

connecting

landlocked nations

with coastal hubs.Tinacho Gerald March 9, 2011

www.capetocongo.com
http://www.capetocongo.com/http://www.capetocongo.com/http://www.capetocongo.com/


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In a 2006 paper, international economist and Africa specialist Paul Collier discusses

Africas geography and its correlation with growth rates and economic performance.He points to the tragic fact that overall the weighted average per capita annual GDP

growth was 0.1% between 1960 and 2000. Unfortunately having a lot of resource

wealth has not resulted in windfall gains for people across the continent, as a lack of

checks and balances resulting from repressive and irresponsible governments tendingto their own needs. This is of course the general picturehe highlights the success of

countries like Mauritius and Botswana, who have both become middle income

economies.

His thesis suggests that the distinct and differentiated physical and human geography

of the continent has had an influence on how countries have fared post independence.

For some, having newly tapped resources has resulted in Dutch disease, while others

have simply suffered from being landlocked and not countering this relative

disadvantage by increasing trade and cooperation with their coastal neighbors. On the

physical side he divides the continent into 4 general groups: 1) Landlocked andresource-scarce; 2) Landlocked and resource-rich; 3) Coastal and resource-rich and finally 4) Coastal and resource-scarce. He concludes that resource richnations on the continent can be combined into one general group as the differences

between the two are negligible.

Many of the continents people live in landlocked nations that are resource scarce, andthe solution for this problem in Colliers view is radical integration of the continents

sub-regions. Increased intra-African trade has been touted as one solution to

combating the massive economic problems faced by most nations on the continent,

but as Gregory Simpkins points out, it is not as easy as suggested. Historically

countries have been dependent on exports of primary resources, while importing

manufactured and other finished goods from outside of the continent. In other words

two countries producing the same type of products will not trade with each other.

Fortunately there have been progressive moves on the continent including in the

SADC region where secondary and tertiary industry are developing as trade between

African nations increase. Collaborations in the SADC region have resulted in several

plans to improve integration and cooperation with the goal of forming a regional

economic community. One of the means by which this will happen is through

transport corridors linking landlocked economic hubs with ports that form parts of the

global maritime trade network.

Investments have been made in various transport corridors likethe Nacala, Maputo

and the North-South corridors. Deliberate efforts to improve transport networks

allow inland nations to have easy access to the coastal hubs around the continent.

Some corridors are better maintained than others, but standardizing and improving
http://www.kansascityfed.org/publicat/sympos/2006/pdf/collier.paper.0901.pdfhttp://www.kansascityfed.org/publicat/sympos/2006/pdf/collier.paper.0901.pdf


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these routes is very important considering the economic benefits of a well integrated

transport network.

Below is a map of courtesy of Trademark SA highlighting important transport

corridors in the region:

John Timbi, the New Economic Partnership for African Developments (NEPAD)

transport infrastructure expert suggests that a $32 billion investment in African roadswill see a 7 fold return on investment in terms of trade revenue.

Below are brief descriptions of southern African transport corridors highlighted

above:

The North-South Corridor links the port ofDurban with central Africa, connectingwith theDar Es Salaam Corridorin Tanzania. This is a result of collaborationbetween SADC, COMESA and the EAC, in an effort to further integrate sub regions

on the way to the formation of the African Economic Community. Durban is one ofAfricas busiest ports in terms of tonnage and traffic. The Dar Es Salaam Corridor


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is run by the DSM Corridor Group (DCG), it has historically provided port access to

central African nations Zambia, Rwanda, Burundi and the DRC partly via the Central

Transport Corridor.

The Nacala Development Corridorconnects the Mozambican port of Nacala with

Malawi and Zambia, covering over 1,000km with two one-stop border posts planned.The Nacala Special Economic Zone is also served by the deepwater porter of Nacalawith potential benefits accruing to the two other countries in the development

corridor. Over $280 million has already been invested in the zone.

The Maputo Corridor is managed by theMaputo Corridor Logistics Initiative(MCLI). It comprises of road, rail, border posts, port and terminal facilities. TheCorridor runs through the most highly industrialised and productive regions of

Southern Africa reaching Africas wealthiest province,Gauteng.

According to the European Union Infrastructure Fund,The Beiracorridorconstitutes the main transport access link between the port of Beira and the interior

of the country (Mozambique) as well as to the neighbouring landlocked Zimbabwe,

Zambia and Malawi. As an important gateway for cargo transport in the region, an

extensive refurbishment of the corridor infrastructure was undertaken in the 1980s

and 1990s. However, the improvements have not been maintained, and the port andits access constitute a major bottleneck for regional transport and trade. A

rehabilitation of the transport infrastructure of the Beira corridor, including the

rehabilitation of the Sena railway line and the restoration of the Beira port access

channel to its original design characteristics is currently been undertaken. There

have been an alarming number ofderailments on the rail line betweenMozambique and Zimbabwe, a major cause for concern.

According its website, The Walvis Bay Corridor Group is a public-privatepartnership established to promote the utilisation of the Walvis Bay Corridors, which

is a network of transport corridors principally comprising the Port of Walvis Bay, the

Trans-Kalahari Corridor, the Trans-Caprivi Corridor,theTrans-CuneneCorridor,and the Trans-Oranje Corridor (not on the map).

The Walvis Bay Corridor Groups public-private partnership set-up allows it to pool

resources and authorities of both transport regulators and transport operators, thuseffectively serving as a facilitation centre and one-stop shop coordinating trade along

the Walvis Bay Corridors and linking Namibia and its ports to the rest of the southern

African region.

The Lobito-Benguela transport corridorlinks the port of Lobito in Angola withinland Lumbumbashi in the southern DRC. There are missing links on the road/rail
http://www.dsmcorridor.com/http://www.trademarksa.org/node/3890http://www.mcli.co.za/http://www.mcli.co.za/http://www.mcli.co.za/mcli-web/mdc/road.htmhttp://www.mcli.co.za/mcli-web/mdc/rail.htmhttp://www.mcli.co.za/mcli-web/mdc/border.htmhttp://www.mcli.co.za/mcli-web/mdc/ports.htmhttp://www.mcli.co.za/mcli-web/mdc/portservices.htmhttp://www.southafrica.info/about/geography/gauteng.htmhttp://www.southafrica.info/about/geography/gauteng.htmhttp://www.southafrica.info/about/geography/gauteng.htmhttp://www.eu-africa-infrastructure-tf.net/activities/grants/beira-blantyre-corridor.htmhttp://ports.co.za/news/news_2011_03_08_01.php#fourhttp://www.wbcg.com.na/http://www.wbcg.com.na/http://www.wbcg.com.na/http://ports.co.za/news/news_2011_03_08_01.php#fourhttp://www.eu-africa-infrastructure-tf.net/activities/grants/beira-blantyre-corridor.htmhttp://www.southafrica.info/about/geography/gauteng.htmhttp://www.mcli.co.za/mcli-web/mdc/portservices.htmhttp://www.mcli.co.za/mcli-web/mdc/ports.htmhttp://www.mcli.co.za/mcli-web/mdc/border.htmhttp://www.mcli.co.za/mcli-web/mdc/rail.htmhttp://www.mcli.co.za/mcli-web/mdc/road.htmhttp://www.mcli.co.za/http://www.trademarksa.org/node/3890http://www.dsmcorridor.com/


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connection. The Trans-African highway plan proposed by the African Union will seek

to see a superhighway connecting Lobito and Beira (see map below). The highway

will intersect the planned Cape to Cairo highway in Lusaka.

The Trans-African highway which is not included in the map above links Cape

Town and the Democratic Republic of Congo. The South African government hasinvested in this network,signing road development deals with the likes of the

Zambian Road Development Fund Agency (RDFA). A larger project funded by the

African Union, the African Development Bank and the United Nations Economic

Commission for Africa is underway, with a network of 9 mega-highways integrating

the continents economic hubs. There are 8 other highways proposed by the African

Union and regional blocs that set out to improve connectivity across the continent.

Below is a map illustrating the 9 highways that will form the Trans-African highway network:

Tinacho Chitongo is a Harare based freelance writer creating interesting content related to southern

African cross border collaboration. You can reach him [email protected]
http://www.coastweek.com/xin_040211_03.htmmailto:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]://www.coastweek.com/xin_040211_03.htm

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Landlocked but Not Lost