Namibia is set to open a permanent office for the Walvis Bay-Ndola-Lubumbashi Corridor on April 1, in a move that is expected to make trade and transport easier between Namibia, Zambia, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The announcement was made by Veikko Nekundi during a meeting in Swakopmund. This office, also called a secretariat, will help run and coordinate activities along the corridor.
The corridor is very important, especially for Zambia and the DRC, because they do not have direct access to the sea. It links them to the Port of Walvis Bay, making it easier to move goods in and out of the region. Things like minerals and farm products are often transported along this route. By improving how the corridor works, the countries hope to reduce delays, cut costs, and make trade smoother.
Nekundi said Namibia has already done the main work needed to get the office running. This includes setting up a plan, agreeing on how it will be managed, and putting funding systems in place. A team made up of different government groups and the Walvis Bay Corridor Group worked together on this. He added that improving the corridor will also support trade across Africa under the African Continental Free Trade Area.
To help pay for the corridor, Namibia plans to introduce a small fee. Transporters will pay about 90 cents per tonne of goods moved along the route. The money will be used to maintain the corridor and support its operations. Nekundi also said more needs to be done, like improving roads and railways, using better digital systems at border points and building truck stops and logistics hubs.
Museba Tayali said the meeting helped the countries talk about the challenges they are facing. These include delays at borders, poor infrastructure and different rules in each country. He said working together is very important if they want to fix these problems and make the corridor more efficient.
A representative for Jean-Pierre Gombo also welcomed the plan, saying the new office will help improve coordination. However, he pointed out that there are still issues like security concerns, administrative delays and lack of common policies that need to be solved.
The corridor agreement was first signed in Livingstone in 2010 to support trade and development. With this new office starting soon, there is hope that the corridor will work better and help grow trade and business in the region.
