Improving Transnational Transport Corridors
In the OIC Member Countries: Concepts and Cases
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 Delays at cities where by-passes have not yet been built;
 Capacity and safety constraints;
 Delays at border posts – though they are much improved;
 Trade and transport facilitation delays due to slowness of tackling NTBs
 High accident rate due very poor enforcement. Mostly fatigue and drunken driving
 Poor reliability due to lack of quality in the freight transport industry;
 Lack of continuity and inter-regional connectivity;
 Poor modal integration;
 Need for modernization; and
 Skills and capacity constraints.
Roads
Productivity in every economic sector is affected by the quality and performance of the road
system. While there is considerable capacity on most of the network currently, the projections
for 2027 suggest the need for increasing capacity, construction of bypasses for major cities,
passing lanes in hilly regions and more efficient border posts. The RDIMP also proposes that
missing links have to be paved in the remaining sections where the network is still gravel or
earth. However, what is absent from the Transport Master Plan is attention to maintenance.
It is very important that SADC recognized in the RDIMP that a major issue across the Region is
maintenance funding and many of the proposed projects that were identified are rehabilitation
of trunk roads to catch up with the backlog of works due to inadequate regular maintenance.
It is emphasized that: Ensuring that priority is given to road maintenance must be a
priority for SADC - generally, road maintenance budgets are about 30% of what it
should be.
Some roads have also suffered from damage due to overloading which remains a persistent
problem in some countries. Enforcement of existing regulations as well as harmonized
axle load limits and related regulatory standards, should be a precondition of all road
projects.
Railways
The SADC regional railways, which are extensive and contiguous, operated on the common
Cape Gauge are fully interoperable but are managed as collection of separated national
systems. SADC through the RDIMP recognized that they should be operated as seamless,
relatively fast cross-border services that are totally integrated. A priority for SADC must be
to advance the process of regional railway integration.