On September 28, the Sakania inland bonded warehouse, jointly established by COSCO SHIPPING (Africa) Co., Ltd. and Tera Fleet Management DMCC (TFD), officially commenced operations at the Sakania border hub in Zambia.

The commissioning of this crucial logistics infrastructure not only marks a significant breakthrough for COSCO SHIPPING in implementing its “channel + hub + network” model in Central and Southern Africa but also provides more efficient supply chain support for China-Africa trade. It is a vivid practice of implementing the outcomes of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) outcomes and advancing the high-quality development of the Belt and Road Initiative.

As an important platform of China-Africa economic and trade cooperation, the Sakania inland bonded warehouse holds a prominent position advantage. Situated at a key transit hub for the export of high-value mineral products from the southern African copper and cobalt mining belt and the import of production materials, the warehouse integrates functions such as customs supervision and bonded storage. This integration can shorten the export cycle for mineral products by 15% and reduce import costs by 20%, thereby addressing local challenges of “low logistics efficiency and high costs.”

Beyond its hardware facilities, COSCO SHIPPING has been continuously empowering the regional industrial chain through its systematic service capabilities. With the bonded warehouse as the pivot, COSCO SHIPPING will link up its existing logistics network covering West Africa, South Africa, and East Africa, further strengthening the “inland hub - port - route” full-chain services. The company will gradually build cross-border logistics parks that integrate transportation, warehousing, and processing, continuously empowering the economic and trade development in Africa with a more open logistics ecosystem.