Lilongwe, MALAWI – Government says it is banking on the Central Corridor to diversify Malawi’s access to international markets and reduce high transport and logistics costs that continue to affect its landlocked economy.
Secretary for the Ministry of Transport and Public Works, Bright Kumwembe, made the remarks on Thursday in Lilongwe during the official opening of the Central Corridor National Stakeholders Dissemination Workshop for Malawi.
Kumwembe said the Corridor, which provides access to the Port of Dar es Salaam, is a critical alternative to complement the Nacala and Beira Corridors, which Malawi has traditionally used for key exports such as tobacco, tea and coffee and imports including fuel, agricultural inputs and motor vehicles.
“Since joining the Central Corridor Transit Transport Facilitation Agency (CCTTFA) in December 2023 as the sixth Member State, Malawi has already registered tangible progress, including facilitation of a Bilateral Air Services Agreement with the Democratic Republic of Congo in 2024 and a Multimodal Transport Study whose findings were validated in May 2026 to assess competitiveness of the corridor against Nacala, Beira and North-South routes”, he explained.
He further disclosed that the CCTTFA is providing technical support for the Malawi North-Bound Railway Project which seeks to connect Malawi to the TAZARA network, with a joint Technical Working Group comprising Malawi, Zambia, Tanzania and TAZARA established in March 2026 to advance the project.
Kumwenda however admitted that infrastructure constraints, operational inefficiencies, policy differences and weak digital integration continue to affect corridor efficiency, citing poor condition of Karonga-Chiweta and Mzuzu-Mzimba Turn-off roads, multiple checkpoints, border delays and lack of railway connectivity to the north and to Dar es Salaam.
“Government is pursuing interventions on the M1 road and railway expansion to the north to promote a modal shift from road to rail and inland water transport for bulk freight, while calling on the private sector-transporters, traders, miners and freight forwarders to help identify practical, commercially viable solutions during the two-day workshop”, he said.
The Malawi Confederation of Chambers of Commerce and Industry (MCCCI) Economic Analyst Chancy Mkandawire has described the Central Corridor as a viable and important trade route that will give businesses diversity and help manage the cost of imported goods.
He said that the Chamber has been part of the corridor process from the route assessment undertaken from Dar es Salaam to Blantyre, noting that the corridor directly affects trade operations and businesses cost.
The workshop, running from October 1 to 2, has brought together key Ministries, Departments and, development partners and private sector prayers in transport, trade, logistics and mining, with financial and technical support from the CCTTFA.