Trans-Caprivi highway | |
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Route information | |
Length | 2,700 km (1,700 mi) |
Location | |
Country | Namibia |
Highway system | |
The Walvis Bay-Ndola-Lubumbashi Development Road, formerly known as the Trans-Caprivi Corridor and until 2004 the Trans-Caprivi Highway, begins in Walvis Bay. It runs through Rundu in northeastern Namibia and along the Caprivi Strip to Katima Mulilo on the Zambezi River, which forms the border between Namibia and Zambia. The Katima Mulilo Bridge spans the river to the Zambian town of Sesheke. From there, the road continues as the M10 Road to Livingstone, where it connects to the main north–south highway to Lusaka and extends to the Copperbelt. [1]
The Trans-Caprivi highway is a section of the Walvis Bay Corridor, a trade route linking land-locked Zambia (and neighbouring countries such as DR Congo, Malawi and Zimbabwe) to the Walvis Bay port on the Atlantic Ocean. An example of the function of the corridor as a trade route is that trucks carry copper ore concentrate from the Dikulushi Mine in South-East DR Congo across Zambia and down the Trans-Caprivi highway to the copper smelter at Tsumeb in Namibia. The refined copper is then exported from Namibian ports.
As the name suggests, the corridor starts at Walvis Bay (in Namibia), passes through Ndola (in Zambia) and ends at Lubumbashi (in DR Congo).
The corridor begins in the coastal town of Walvis Bay as the B2 road, heading northwards to the coastal town of Swakopmund (a distance of 35km), where it turns eastwards. It heads eastwards from Swakopmund, through Karibib, to the town of Okahandja (a distance of 290km), where it reaches a junction with the B1 road. At this junction, the B2 ends and the corridor becomes the B1 northwards. The entire section from Walvis Bay to Okahandja is shared with the Trans-Kalahari Corridor.
From Okahandja, it heads northwards as the B1 for 290km, through Otjiwarongo, to the town of Otavi (south-west of Tsumeb), where it reaches a junction with the B8 road. At this junction, the corridor becomes the B8 east-north-east and heads for 345km to the town of Rundu, where it meets the B10 road and becomes the main road through the Caprivi Strip. The section from Okahandja to Otavi is shared with the Tripoli–Cape Town Highway.
The corridor resumes being the B8 road and heads eastwards from Rundu for 510km to the border town of Katima Mulilo, where it crosses the national boundary in a northerly direction to enter Zambia. Immediately after crossing the border, it reaches a junction with Zambia's M10 road. The corridor becomes the M10 and immediately crosses the Zambezi River in a north-easterly direction as the Katima Mulilo Bridge to enter the town of Sesheke.
From Sesheke, the corridor heads eastwards as the M10 for 135km to the small town of Kazungula, where it meets the M19 road (which provides access to the near Kazungula Bridge border with Botswana). From Kazungula, it heads eastwards for 70 kilometres as the M10 to the city of Livingstone (10 km north of the Victoria Falls), where it reaches a junction with the T1 road. At this junction, the M10 ends and the corridor becomes the T1 north-eastwards.
From Livingstone, it heads north-east as the T1 for 420km, through Choma, to reach a junction with the T2 road about 10km south of Kafue. At this junction, the T1 ends and the corridor becomes the T2 northwards. It heads northwards as the T2 for 55km to the city of Lusaka (capital city of Zambia). From Lusaka, it heads northwards as the T2 for 200km, through Kabwe, to Kapiri Mposhi, where it reaches a junction with the T3 road and enters the Copperbelt region. At this junction, the corridor becomes the T3 northwards. The section from Livingstone to Kapiri Mposhi is shared with the Cairo-Cape Town Highway.
From Kapiri Mposhi, it heads northwards as the T3 for 170km, through the city of Ndola, to the city of Kitwe. From Kitwe, it heads northwards for 90km, through Chingola, to the border town of Kasumbalesa, where it crosses the national boundary in a northerly direction to enter DR Congo and become the N1 route. From Kasumbalesa, the corridor heads north-north-west as the N1 route for 100 kilometres to the city of Lubumbashi. The section from Kafue (south of Lusaka) to Lubumbashi is shared with the Beira–Lobito Highway.
This article deals with the system of transport in Namibia, both public and private.
This article is about the Transport in Zambia.
The Caprivi Strip, also known simply as Caprivi, is a geographic salient protruding from the northeastern corner of Namibia. It is bordered by Botswana to the south and Angola and Zambia to the north. Namibia, Botswana and Zambia meet at a single point at the eastern tip of the Strip, which also comes within 150 m (490 ft) of Zimbabwe, thus nearly forming a quadripoint.
Livingstone is a city in Zambia. Until 1935, it served as the capital of Northern Rhodesia. Lying 10 km (6 mi) to the north of the Zambezi River, it is a tourism attraction center for the Victoria Falls and a border town with road and rail connections to Zimbabwe on the other side of the Victoria Falls. A historic British colonial city, its present population was enumerated at 177,393 inhabitants at the 2022 census. It is named after David Livingstone, the Scottish explorer and missionary who was the first European to explore the area. Until 2011, Livingstone was the provincial capital of Zambia's Southern Province.
Kapiri Mposhi is a Zambian town and the seat of the Kapiri Mposhi District in Central Province. Located north of Lusaka, it stands on the Great North Road and is significant for the railway connection between the Zambia Railways line from Kitwe to Lusaka and the western terminus of the Tanzania-Zambia Railway Authority from Dar es Salaam since 1976.
Katima Mulilo or simply Katima is the capital of the Zambezi Region in Namibia. It had 46,401 inhabitants in 2023, and comprises two electoral constituencies, Katima Mulilo Rural and Katima Mulilo Urban. It is located on the B8 national road on the banks of the Zambezi River in the Caprivi Strip in lush riverine vegetation with tropical birds and monkeys. The town receives annual average rainfall of 654 millimetres (25.7 in).
Sesheke is a border town in the Western Province of Zambia, in a district of the same name. It lies on the northern bank of the Zambezi River which forms the border with Namibia's Caprivi Strip at that point.
Kazungula is a small border town in Zambia, lying on the north bank of the Zambezi River about 70 kilometres (45 mi) west of Livingstone on the M10 Road.
The Great North Road is a major route in Zambia, running north from Lusaka through Kabwe, Kapiri Mposhi, Serenje, Mpika, Isoka and Nakonde to the border with Tanzania. The entire route is designated as the T2 road on Zambia's road network. It forms the Zambian section of the Tanzam Highway.
The Katima Mulilo Bridge carries the TransCaprivi Highway over the Zambezi River between Katima Mulilo, Namibia and Sesheke, Zambia. It is a road bridge, completed in 2004, 900 metres long and with 19 spans. It links Namibia's Trans–Caprivi Highway to the Zambian road network, forming a section of the trade route from south-central Africa to the Atlantic known as the Walvis Bay Corridor. It also carries tourist traffic.
The Trans-Kalahari Corridor is a paved highway corridor that provides a direct route from the port of Walvis Bay and Windhoek in central Namibia, through Botswana, to Pretoria in Gauteng province in South Africa. It initially cost approximately 850 million Namibian dollars and was officially opened in 1998.
The Kazungula Ferry was a pontoon ferry across the 400-metre-wide (1,300 ft) Zambezi River between Botswana and Zambia. It was one of the largest ferries in south-central Africa, having a capacity of 70 tonnes. The service was provided by two motorised pontoons and operated between border posts at Kazungula, Zambia and Kazungula, Botswana.
The Beira–Lobito Highway or TAH 9 is Trans-African Highway 9 in the transcontinental road network being developed by the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA), the African Development Bank (ADB), and the African Union. The route has a length of 3,523 km (2,189 mi) crossing Angola, the most southerly part of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Zambia, Zimbabwe, and central Mozambique.
B8 road often known as the Golden Highway is one of the national highways of Namibia. It leads from the B1 at Otavi via Grootfontein and Rundu through the Caprivi Strip to the border town of Katima Mulilo and further on to the Botswana border at Ngoma. The section from Otavi to Katima Mulilo forms part of the Walvis Bay-Ndola-Lubumbashi Development Road.
The T1 or Lusaka–Livingstone Road is the main highway of the Southern Province of Zambia. It begins 55 kilometres south of the city of Lusaka and heads south-west to the principal tourist destination, Victoria Falls in Livingstone, via Mazabuka, Monze, Choma and Kalomo, measuring approximately 430 kilometres (267 mi). The entire route is part of Trans-African Highway network number 4 or Cairo-Cape Town Highway between Cairo and Cape Town.
The B1 is a national highway of Namibia, and is the country's longest and most significant road, running the length of the country from south to north. It connects Noordoewer in the south on the South African border with Oshikango in the north on the Angolan border via Namibia's capital city Windhoek.
The T2 is a trunk road in Zambia. The road runs from the Tunduma border with Tanzania via Mpika, Kabwe and Lusaka to the Chirundu border with Zimbabwe. The road is the longest route of the country, as it is approximately 1,155 kilometres (718 mi). The route from Mpika to Kafue is a toll road. The route from Tanzania to Lusaka is Zambia's Great North Road and is part of the Tanzam Highway.
The T3 is a trunk road in Zambia. The road runs from Kapiri Mposhi via Ndola, Kitwe and Chingola to Kasumbalesa on the border with DR Congo. The entire route is a toll road.
The M10 road is a road in Zambia. It goes from Livingstone, through Sesheke and Senanga, to Mongu. The road is approximately 508 kilometres and follows the Zambezi River for its entire length.