The corridor of choice
Spira Tlhankane | Monday March 2, 2026 06:00
During the launch of the Kazungula Bridge Authority (KBA) on Tuesday, leaders from both countries described the bridge as a catalyst for regional integration, trade expansion, and industrial growth along the strategic North-South Corridor (NSC).
Zambia’s Minister of Infrastructure, Housing and Urban Development, Charles Milupi, revealed that since the opening of the Kazungula Bridge in May 2021, the number of trucks crossing the bridge has significantly increased from an average of 214 trucks per day in 2021 to 491 trucks per day as of December, 2025.
“Kazungula has become a preferred crossing point on the north-south corridor, contributing to increased revenue generation for our two countries. We believe that with the KBA in place, this investment will further enhance, sustain, and improve the efficiency of the operations of the border. This will result in increased trade and traffic volumes. The operational efficiency at the border will be further enhanced by the Kazungula bridge authority in that we intend to quickly move from a one-stop border post to a non-stop border post by leveraging technology,” Milupi said.
His counterpart, Botswana’s Minister of Transport and Infrastructure, Noah Salakae, underscored the strategic weight of the corridor. “The Kazungula Bridge stands not only as a physical link between our two countries, but also as a key component of the North-South Corridor (NSC), a vital trade route within the SADC Region and an important conduit for regional integration and economic development, benefiting countries such as Democratic Republic of Congo, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa, Tanzania as well as Zimbabwe,” he said.
Salakae noted that the NSC accounts for approximately 84% of regional freight traffic, largely driven by trade in Zambia, the Democratic Republic of Congo, and South Africa. He said a significant share of this traffic originates from the Port of Durban, which handles nearly 64% of container movements in the region, and from Gauteng Province, encompassing Johannesburg and Pretoria, the region’s industrial and logistics hub.
“The NSC, therefore, remains the corridor of choice for the mining, agriculture, and manufacturing sectors in the region owing to its balanced import-export flow, competitive costs, and overall efficiency. The Kazungula Bridge serves as a catalyst for economic transformation, unlocking new investment opportunities and reinforcing the Kazungula One Stop Border’s position as a key gateway for regional trade and connectivity. The latter has helped streamline cross-border procedures, resulting in reduced clearance times and lower trade costs and enhanced competitiveness of Botswana’s exports and imports,” Salakae added.
Meanwhile, Zambian President, Hakainde Hichilema reiterated that traffic volumes have already doubled since the bridge opened in 2021.“I have been told this is now the preferred route for the countries in the north. It was 200 trucks per day before the launch of the bridge in 2021, and it increased to about 400 in 2025. But our vision is to have more than 1000 trucks passing the Kazungula Bridge every day. We want to see the movement of goods translate to benefits for our people,” he said.
Spanning from Durban in South Africa to Kolwezi in the DRC, the North-South Corridor is widely regarded as the backbone of regional trade, carrying over 60% of SADC’s commerce and serving seven countries and more than half the bloc’s population. It overlays key Trans-African Highways and cuts across the region’s richest mineral belts, prime agricultural zones, and major river basins, including the Okavango, Zambezi, and Limpopo.
Beyond trucks and tariffs, leaders say the vision is bigger and includes transforming the NSC into a smart economic corridor capable of unlocking an estimated US$16.1 billion in regional GDP and creating about 1.6 million jobs, particularly for youth, women, and small enterprises through value chains, local manufacturing, and industrialisation.
With the KBA now in place and ambitions shifting from a one-stop to a non-stop border powered by technology, Kazungula is no longer just a crossing point, it is positioning itself as the heartbeat of Southern Africa’s trade future.