Trade Corridors

The Port & Corridor Cooperation believes that the development of key areas of economic development in the Southern African Development Community (SADC), such as agricultural development and water management, significantly depends on the quality of infrastructure and access to transportation in and out of the region. Below you find 5 stories about the following SADC corridors: South Africa corridor, Dar es Salaam corridor, Maputo corridor, Trans-Kalahari corridor and Lobito-Lusaka corridor.

Transport is a significant sector in the SADC, in that it reduces transactional costs in enhancing intraregional trade. To facilitate regional infrastructure development, governments in the SADC region promote the expansion and improvement of development corridors. Corridors are the focal point for regional development initiatives. Transport corridors have been around for centuries, but it is only in the last few decades that they have been recognized for what they are and, more importantly, what they can become as well as the value they can add to economic growth. They serve to open up markets and promote increased trade and investment.

Almost half of the SADC member states are landlocked and thus they require efficient regional transport links for access to the sea. Linking landlocked countries to their neighbours, and thus to the ocean, not only improves the operational and economic efficiency of these states, it also creates many new economic opportunities.

South Africa Corridor
The Cape Town-Gauteng and the Durban-Gauteng trade routes connect South Africa’s most industrialised ports to the economic heart of the country – Gauteng – and is part of the North-South corridor, running northwards and linking with the Dar Es Salaam corridor. Click here for the full story: South Africa corridor.

Dar es Salaam corridor
No one corridor can serve the needs of SADC. Dar es Salaam Corridor plays a key role of serving need of Malawi, Zambia and Democratic Republic of the Congo. Dar es Salaam Corridor Group Ltd (DCG) is investing 6 million dollars into dry port locating in Kisarawe, 30 km from Dar es Salaam. Click here for the full story: Dar es Salaam corridor.

Trans-Kalahari Corridor 
The Trans-Kalahari Corridor (TKC) was established with a political and economical vision to pursue or contribute towards deeper regional integration programs of SADC, SACU and NEPAD. The corridor connects the port of Walvis Bay (east coast) to the port of Maputo (west coast) and serves southern Africa. Click here for the full story: Trans-Kalahari corridor.

Maputo Development Corridor
The Maputo Development Corridor (MDC) was launched as a Spatial Development Initiative (SDI) in 1996 as the governments of South Africa and Mozambique sought to rebuild their economies and restore trade and investment ties. Click here for the full story: Maputo corridor.

Lobito Corridor 
The Corridor of Lobito is an important array of integrated infrastructure, formed by various enterprises and economic units, mainly in the sectors of transportation and communications. Its strategic location offers a big advantage, allowing it to play a key role as a platform in the regional and international network system of transports, particularly in southern Africa. Click here for the full story: Lobito Lusaka corridor.