COMESA Lauds Lobito Corridor Gateway Priority

The Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA) has welcomed the move by the government of Zambia to prioritise the rehabilitation and improvement of the country’s railway network especially the Lobito Corridor .

COMESA Secretary General, Chileshe Kapwepwe says the opening up of the Lobito corridor in particular will support trade and investment at national and regional levels.

Ms Kapwepwe adds that the signing of agreements on the Tanzania Zambia railway (TAZARA) is another exciting development that Zambia is actively pushing to ensure that the country has the required level of infrastructure to support foreign trade and investment.

ZANIS reports that the COMESA Secretary General was speaking after witnessing the official opening of the fourth session of the 13th National Assembly, held under the theme: Enhancing Natural Resilience: Socio-economic gains in the Face of Adverse Effects of Climate Change.

“Economic development is anchored on trade and investment for any country by increasing production and adding value to products, so it is important that Zambia does not think of itself as a Zambian market but as a whole regional market,” She said.

She pointed out that COMESA has a free trade area at both regional and continental level and advised that Zambia should start actively taking advantage of these positions by ensuring that Zambia sees itself not only as a local producer but a regional producer.

Meanwhile, Solwezi Central Member of Parliament Stafford Mulusa said the development of the Lobito railway line will bring a lot of business opportunities not only to the country but also to the people of North-western province.

“We are very excited as Zambians and particularly people from North-western province, the Lobito Corridor is going to open the province to business opportunities. We have never had a railway line in North-western province, we have never seen the mass trade that people talk about,” he said.
He said the Lobito Corridor is something that is being waited for in the northwestern province as it will bring a lot of development to the country and the province in particular.