Why it Matters
Africa’s major transport corridors are increasingly being assessed not only as routes between ports, production centres and inland markets, but as platforms for integrated logistics. The discussion around Kapiri Mposhi, Kuala Dry Port, the Nairobi Inland Container Depot and other corridor-linked facilities shows that rail, road, dry ports, ports and aviation need to be planned around freight flows rather than treated as separate infrastructure categories.
For rail, the issue is particularly important. Intermodal planning strengthens the case for moving rail-suited freight onto rail, reducing unnecessary road pressure and improving corridor efficiency. It also places project preparation, financing structures, customs systems and policy enforcement at the centre of whether Africa’s corridor investments can become operational logistics systems.
Across Africa, the discussion around intermodal transport is moving from policy ambition into practical implementation, with corridor-linked infrastructure projects beginning to show how road, rail, ports, dry ports and aviation can be planned as parts of a connected logistics system. Rather than treating each mode as a separate investment category, the emerging focus is on how infrastructure, policy, finance and operations can be aligned around freight flows, production centres and regional trade corridors.
This was the central theme of Beyond Borders: Building Africa’s Intermodal Transport System, panel discussion at Land-Linked Zambia 2026, which examined the opportunities, constraints and financing pathways required to support a more integrated transport ecosystem across the continent. The emphasis was not only on the need for new infrastructure, but on whether existing and planned assets are being connected in a way that allows each mode to perform the function for which it is best suited.
In Zambia, Kapiri Mposhi illustrates how this shift is beginning to take shape. The Zambian government has designated the town as a transport and logistics hub, reflecting its position at the intersection of four major corridors: the Central Corridor, the North-South Corridor, the Walvis Bay-Ndola-Lubumbashi Corridor and the Lobito Corridor. It is also the point where the Tazara Railway terminates and where the Zambia Railways line passes, providing links from the Democratic Republic of Congo, through Zambia, to the ports of Beira, Nacala, Dar es Salaam and South Africa.
The planned intermodal dry port at Kapiri Mposhi is intended to support the transshipment of freight between road and rail, while proposals for a cargo airport and supporting infrastructure point to a wider logistics ambition. The objective is no longer limited to corridor access in the conventional sense. It is about developing freight systems that connect modes, markets and production centres more efficiently.
Comparable examples are emerging elsewhere on the continent. In Tanzania, Kuala Dry Port has been designated as an intermodal facility linked to the Port of Dar es Salaam by standard gauge railway, allowing cargo for Zambia, Malawi, the DRC and neighbouring markets to move by rail from the port before onward road distribution. Kenya’s Standard Gauge Railway and the Nairobi Inland Container Depot were also referenced during the discussion as evidence that intermodal systems are already taking shape within African logistics networks.
How these systems are financed, scaled and operationalised now becomes the central issue. Additional infrastructure will be required in many cases, but the more immediate challenge is to avoid investment decisions that reinforce single-mode planning. Intermodal development depends on the ability to connect infrastructure planning with demand, financing, operating models, customs systems and regional policy alignment.
Luthando Vuba, Head: Trade Development at Standard Bank, positioned transport infrastructure within a wider economic system, noting that the bank’s role is not limited to supporting transporters seeking to expand their fleets. The financing lens also extends to the sectors that can develop or become more competitive when transport connectivity improves.
Zambia’s mineral production ambitions make this point particularly relevant. Raising production from 890,000 to 3 million metric tons by 2031 will require more than expanded mining operations. Energy security, food security and digital infrastructure will also be required to improve system efficiency and support the broader production environment. In this context, intermodal transport becomes part of a wider development equation rather than a standalone infrastructure category.
Sustainability finance is increasingly part of that equation. Standard Bank referred to its role in sustainability finance and its recent closing of an $800 million sustainability finance round, placing emphasis not only on whether intermodal hubs and supporting assets can be built, but also on whether they can be developed more efficiently and with lower environmental impact.
The financing environment also requires collaboration across the full financial value chain. Sovereigns, development finance institutions, commercial banks, private equity and multilateral development banks each have a role in moving infrastructure projects from concept to bankability. Sovereign participation remains especially important where guarantees are required to support ministries and national capabilities, while development finance institutions can help structure risk, support technical work and create conditions that attract private capital.
Project preparation remains one of the weakest points in the infrastructure pipeline. Vuba noted that more than 80% of projects fail at the technical assessment stage, often because insufficient time and resources have been allocated to scoping, technical validation and risk assessment before financiers are approached. Where this work has not been done properly, financiers are unable to assess risk accurately, which can result in risk being overstated and otherwise viable projects failing to progress.
For African infrastructure development, the strength of the project pipeline is therefore as important as the availability of capital. Institutions such as AFC and AfDB were referenced in this context, particularly where they are supporting projects through technical assessment and helping to improve the quality of bankable infrastructure pipelines.
The discussion also raised an important policy question: whether Africa’s transport challenge is always a shortage of infrastructure, or whether it is also a question of how existing infrastructure is used. Zambia’s rail network was cited as an example. The country has just under 3,000 kilometres of rail network and a legal requirement that 30% of copper should move by rail, yet the actual volume transported by rail remains well below that level. The freight then shifts to road, increasing the maintenance and rehabilitation burden on infrastructure that was not intended to carry that level of heavy bulk traffic.
This example shows why intermodal policy cannot be separated from infrastructure planning. Adding capacity does not necessarily solve the problem if freight continues to move on the wrong mode. Where rail-suited freight remains on road, inefficiency develops in one part of the system while cost pressure builds in another. Infrastructure expansion, without policy enforcement and operational alignment, is unlikely to deliver the intended logistics outcome.
Africa’s logistics future will not be carried by a single mode. Road, rail, aviation, ports and dry ports each have a function, but their value depends on how effectively they are integrated. The investment challenge is to move beyond modal competition and toward planning frameworks that allocate freight and passenger movement according to the comparative strengths of each mode, supported by trade flows, production targets and regional development priorities.
A single customs window for SADC, or for the wider Southern African region, was raised during the discussion as one practical measure that could improve system performance. Structured through a public-private partnership with government representation and private-sector participation, such a platform could reduce lead times, improve logistics visibility and address some of the border and documentation friction that continues to affect corridor performance.
Aviation was also placed within the intermodal discussion, particularly in relation to e-commerce and higher-value freight. The point extended beyond existing air cargo movements for agricultural products, flowers or time-sensitive goods. Regional e-commerce will only become more accessible when the supporting infrastructure is affordable, connected and operationally reliable. Aviation-linked logistics therefore needs to form part of the broader intermodal planning agenda, rather than being treated separately from rail, road and port systems.
What emerged from the discussion is that intermodal transport is both an infrastructure challenge and a coordination challenge. Africa already has corridor intersections, rail-linked dry ports and emerging logistics platforms. The next phase will depend on whether policy, finance, project preparation and operating systems can be aligned so that these assets function as part of a broader logistics network.
For Zambia, and for the wider Southern and East African region, the opportunity lies in treating transport corridors as economic platforms rather than routes alone. Rail should carry freight suited to rail. Roads should provide flexibility and distribution where it is most efficient. Aviation should serve speed-sensitive and higher-value movements where the economics justify it. Digital systems and customs reform should reduce the friction that weakens corridor performance before freight even reaches the next mode.
Capital will remain essential, but capital alone will not deliver the shift from transport corridors to intermodal systems. Projects need to be technically sound before they reach financiers, policy must support appropriate modal use, and governments, financiers and the private sector will need structures capable of turning regional transport ambition into operational logistics systems.
Written by Phillippa Dean
