Zambezi River Basin

Transport Routes

Mtwara Development Corridor The Mtwara Development Corridor falls within the territories of Malawi, Mozambique, Tanzania and Zambia, and runs between the Indian Ocean port of Mtwara in the east and Mbamba Bay Lake Malawi. Transport projects include expansion and upgrading of Mtwara port, and the ports of Mbamba Bay and Manda on the lake. Other projects include upgrading Mtwara Airport, and the road and rail infrastructure. Other important projects are the Mchuchuma Thermal Power Station, the Mtwara-Mbamba Bay petroleum pipeline and Songo Songo gas. Walvis Bay Corridor The Walvis Bay Corridor serves the central and southern parts of SADC, via the Trans-Kalahari Corridor linking Botswana, Namibia and South Africa, and via the Trans-Caprivi Corridor connecting Namibia and Zambia to Zimbabwe and the DRC. It also links Angola and Namibia via the Trans-Cunene Corridor. The northeastern arm, the Trans-Caprivi Corridor through the Zambezi River Basin was completed in 2004 with the opening of a new bridge at Katima Mulilo and provides an alternative import- export route for Zambia’s Coppperbelt and for agricultural and agro-processing industries. Okavango Upper Zambezi International Tourism (Ouzit) SDI The Ouzit was initially conceived and presented as a wildlife sanctuary to be located within the context of the Okavango and Zambezi wetland systems. The project centred on a core development area comprising 260 000 sq km incorporating game parks in Angola, Botswana, Namibia andZimbabwe. Infrastructuredevelopment projects within the SDI comprise of the networking of the inland park regions, the fast-tracking of improvements to the air traffic and transport infrastructure in participating countries, and establishment and management of a logistics platform linked to the improved regional air transport system. The Ouzit SDI connects to the Namib Development Corridor in southern Angola.

The SADC region plans to develop transport networks and corridors to allow easy movement of goods and services across borders. Some of the major projects proposed for countries in the Basin include the construction of roads, railways and airports. The biggest and most comprehensive development is the North-South Corridor between the ports of Dar es Salaam in Tanzania and Durban in South Africa, which runs through the Zambezi Basin in Tanzania, Zambia and Zimbabwe. North South Development Corridor This is the busiest and most extensive regional transit link in eastern and southern Africa, linking the largest number of countries. It connects eight countries and interlinks to other corridors including the Trans-Kalahari, Beira, Lobito, Dar es Salaam and Nacala corridors. This corridor is critical because South Africa is the largest African trading partner for most of the countries in the region and the port of Durban handles a significant portion of transit traffic for the landlocked states, as does the Tanzanian port of Dar es Salaam in the north. Key infrastructure involves the ports, the roads and the railway lines. Tazara Development Corridor The Tazara Corridor (also called the Dar es Salaam Corridor) is part of the North South Corridor, a strategic artery linking southern Africa with east and central Africa. There is increasing traffic on this route from South Africa, Zimbabwe and Zambia in the south, and from the Nacala Corridor in Malawi and Mozambique. The traffic is largely sugar, cement, fuel and machinery. The Tazara Corridor provides the shortest distance by rail from Zambia’s Copperbelt mines to a port, and is owned by the United Republic of Tanzania and Zambia. The corridor traverses some of the most fertile land in southern Tanzania and northern Zambia, and has potential for agriculture, tourism, mining, forestry and fishing.

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