Cabinet Approves Beira Development Corridor Agreement

Minister of Transport and Logistics, Hon. Museba Frank Tayali , MP is elated with the move by Cabinet to approve the Beira Development Corridor Agreement.

This came to light following the sitting of the 8th Cabinet Meeting chaired by His Excellency President Hakainde Hichilema on Monday, May 6th 2024 in Lusaka which approved that Zambia signs and ratifies the Beira Development Corridor Agreement.
On Monday, Cabinet approved that Zambia should sign and ratify the Beira Development Corridor Agreement (BDCA) amongst the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), the Republic of Malawi, the Republic of Mozambique, the Republic of Zimbabwe and the Republic of Zambia.

It is in the interest of Cabinet for Zambia to sign and ratify the BDCA in order for the Agreement to enter into force and facilitate the creation of coordination mechanisms to address the challenges that require to be resolved by the five-member States.

This will promote and facilitate infrastructure development, transit-transport cooperation and cross border trade among the five-member States and ensure that they benefit from the various initiatives and development projects to be undertaken by the various stakeholders and Cooperating Partners within the Corridor.

The Beira Development Corridor is critical to enhancing regional and international trade competitiveness particularly for the landlocked countries of Zambia, Zimbabwe, Malawi and Democratic Republic of Congo.

Hon.Tayali says the development is a very welcome move as the Beira Corridor offers Zambia the shortest route to the sea.
The approved Agreement will now be taken to Parliament for the final stage of the Ratification process. Once ratified, it will be the fifth (5th) Corridor Agreement that Zambia would have since ratified under Hon. Tayali as Minister of the Ministry of Transport and Logistics.

The remaining Corridor under consideration and awaiting approval and subsequent ratification is the North South Corridor Agreement which is still waiting for intervention from the Southern African Development Community (SADC) Secretariat.
Hon. Tayali presented the Zambian case for the Beira Corridor Agreement to Cabinet.

The Minister is highly optimistic that the approval of the Corridor is a sure way in the country’s quest to creating a multi-modal transportation and economic development system in the region and beyond.
Hon. Tayali strongly feels that what Government has done is in line with the New Dawn Government’s aspiration of turning the country into an export-led growth and middle-income country by 2030 as well as transformation into a regional transport and logistics hub.

The Minister also says he looks forward to the development of the Kafue to Lion’s Den railway link which will cut the distance to the Beira Sea Port by over 1000 Kilometres.

This article originally appeared in The Lusaka Times.