• Copper exports tend to use a lot of routes which do not have weighbridges.
• This is to avoid detection of what is being exported.
• It will therefore be very important for Zambia to put in place a weighbridge on that route before getting to the border.

Private Sector Development Association (PSDA) has called for mechanisms to monitor Copper exports that will be transported through the recently launched Lobito Corridor.

Speaking in an interview with Money FM News, Association Chairperson Yusuf Dodia noted that this is because Copper exports tend to use a lot of routes which do not have weighbridges to avoid detection of what is being exported.

Mr. Dodia says it will therefore be very important for Zambia to put in place a weighbridge on that route before getting to the border, so as to be able to monitor all the products that are leaving and coming into the country through the Lobito Corridor.
“One of the challenges is to have mechanisms to monitor especially the Copper exports because Copper exports tend to sue a lot of routes which do not have weighbridges and this is to avoid detection of what is being exported. So it will be very important for us as Zambia to ensure that on that route before getting to the border, we should have a weighbridge to be able to monitor all the products that are leaving Zambia and coming into Zambia through that Lobito Corridor.
“But otherwise, it’s a good initiative. Zambia needs as many routes to the oceans as possible in order to ensure that we have security of access to the rest of the world from different angles,” Mr. Dodia stated.
Recently, member states of the Lobito Corridor, namely Angola, Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), and Zambia, launched the concessioning of the Lobito port and the rail line a significant infrastructure that will be operated under a Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV).
The Lobito Corridor offers not only the shortest route to the sea but also serves as a vital logistics facilitator for Zambia’ imports and exports.