The corridor offers a logistics solution for southern Africa.
by Blue Africa News
The North-South Concept (NSC) of a smart economic corridor recently endorsed by seven members states of the Southern African Development Community (SADC) could unlock US$16.1 billion in Gross Domestic Product (GDP) within the region, according to the regional organisation.
Once fully implemented it could generate some 1.6 million jobs through local manufacturing, value chains and other economic activities.
“The concept strives to encourage concentration of economic growth areas within a particular radius of the corridor, which ensures easy access to infrastructural services,” said a media statement by SADC.
In July, seven member states of SADC embarked on a journey to transform the North-South Corridor (NSC), “from a purely transit and trade corridor into a smart economic corridor, making it a powerhouse of industrialisation, job creation, and sustainable development.”
During a high-level workshop in Johannesburg (24-25 July), Botswana, Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Malawi, Mozambique, South Africa, Zambia and Zimbabwe validated the concept, marking the first step towards making the area a fully integrated economic corridor.
According to SADC, North-South is one of the busiest trade routes, moving over 60% of commodities and people, serving 7 countries and over half of the region’s over 360 million population.
Considered the backbone of SADC region, the corridor reaches from Durban in South Africa to Kolwezi in DRC, overlapping several Trans-African Highways (TAHs) including TAH3 (Cape Town to Tripoli), TAH4 (Cape Town to Cairo) and TAH9 (Beira to Lobito).
“The NSC also transects the region’s top mineral zones of DRC, Zambia and Zimbabwe, major agricultural production zones, and several major river basins including Okavango, Zambezi and Limpopo.”
The Council of Ministers and Summit of Heads of States are expected to approve the concept note this August, before the NSC pilot program kicks off in early 2026.
Oliver Ochieng, Blue Africa News