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Total: 2,164 km (1995)
Railtracker (ACIS/UNCTAD) Zambia Railway Network Diagram
Zambia's North-West Extension - 8 February 2006 - Preparatory work is going forward on Zambia's proposed new north-western extension railway from Chingola to Solwezi, estimated to cost about $US235m. The area has excellent mining potential which cannot be exploited effectively without rail facilities. The route has been surveyed and the implications of compensating land owners are being worked out. Australian and American interests are examining the project and the Development Bank of Southern Africa (DBSA) may help with finance. The United States Trade and Development Agency (USTDA), another prospective source of funding, is also looking at the scheme. Hopes have been expressed that the new line might eventually be extended to Mwinilunga and even to join Angola's Benguela Railway without relying on the DR Congo link, to restore what was until the 1970s Zambia's main route for exporting copper and other metals.
| • Lusaka - capital | • Kabwe | • Ndola |
| • Kafue | • Kitwe | • Chililabombwe — freight only |
| • Mazabuka | • Kapiri Mposhi | • Luanshya — freight only |
| • Choma | • Mpika | • Chingola — freight only |
| • Livingstone | • Kasama | • Mufulira — freight only |
| • Mulobezi | Ndola |
Total: 91,440 km (2001)
Paved: 20,117 km (2001) of which 6,779 km are trunk or main routes.
Unpaved: 71,323 km (2001) (Some of the unpaved highways are graded laterite roads.)
In the 1970s Zambia had one of the best highway networks in sub-Saharan Africa. In 1991 it was estimated by the National Road Fund Agency (NRFA) that 80 percent of the road network had deteriorated and out of total road assets valued at US$2.3 billion, US$400 million had been lost due to neglected maintenance. The government introduced a road fund levy on fuel and that together with international aid has improved the highway network. In 2004 the NRFA rated 57% of paved roads in good condition, 22% in fair condition and 21% in poor condition.
NRFA Zambia Road Network Map showing Road condition and level of use in December 2003
Roads are listed by common name, if any, or main towns served. Major bridges or ferries given in italics. All the listed roads are paved except the Congo Pedicle in DR Congo territory. Note that some share sections, e.g. Great North Road & Tanzam highway between Kapiri Mposhi and Mpika. Usage levels are taken from the NRFA map linked above.
Central
North
East
West
South
As a landlocked minerals producer, Trade Corridors are vital to Zambia. In Zambia's case these are road and/or rail routes which cross international borders to ports and which are the subject of international agreements on planning, use and management. They are not separate from the road and rail networks listed above, but are entities superimposed on those networks for strategic economic and trade development. They are:
Source: Regional Transport Infrastructure Development in South Africa, JBIC Review No. 2, November 2000.
Corridors 1 to 6 may also be used by southeastern DR Congo though Zambia.
Although none of the major urban centres are located on usable waterways, Zambia is a relatively well-watered country but is mainly flat, meaning there are many navigable rivers, lakes and channels through swamps, which together reach a large proportion of the rural population. These offer a minimum-maintenance rural transport alternative. In the cases of Bangweulu and Mweru Wantipa in particular, there are permanent and seasonal fishing communities for whom the only access is by boat or canoe.
Zambia has an 'open skies' policy since the state-owned national carrier failed. Before its demise, Zambian Airways was the only Zambia-based scheduled carrier. As of November 2009, there are only a number of air charter companies serving the tourism and mining industries and government and aid sectors, and some of these run scheduled services from time to time.
Other international airlines These change frequently, the main routes serviced by international airlines are:
total: 11
over 3,047 m: 1
2,438 to 3,047 m: 3
1,524 to 2,437 m: 4
914 to 1,523 m: 2
under 914 m: 1 (2002)
total: 98
2,438 to 3,047 m: 1
1,524 to 2,437 m: 4
914 to 1,523 m: 63
under 914 m: 30 (2002)
Crude oil 1,724 km
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