GCA Launches Climate-Resilient Transport Initiative in Zambia
R
otterdam, the Netherlands, 20 February 2024 – The Global Center on Adaptation (GCA), in partnership with the World Bank Group (WBG), Zambia’s Road Development Agency (RDA), and the Ministry of Transportations and Logistics, announce today its technical support for the Zambia Transport Corridors for Economic Resilience (TRACER) project. Delivered under the African Adaptation Acceleration Program (AAAP), this initiative aims to rehabilitate critical road infrastructure, bolster trade connectivity, and enhance climate resilience along the country’s vital transport routes.
The TRACER project will rehabilitate 200 kilometers of the Serenje–Mpika road along the strategic Dar es Salaam corridor, construct a One Stop Border Post at Nakonde to streamline cross-border procedures, and develop a SMART corridor between Lusaka and Nakonde to optimize transport efficiency. The project will also support the resilient design of two road sections in two other vital corridors, the Nacala and Trans-Caprivi corridors. With an overall investment of USD$270 million, these upgrades will significantly improve year-round transportation and trade between Zambia and Tanzania, benefiting an estimated 800,000 people, including about 255,000 women, over the project implementation period (2024–2030).
Zambia’s climate, marked by high temperatures and varied rainfall, poses growing risks to the nation’s roads. A recent Climate Vulnerability Assessment (CVA) demonstrates increasingly frequent severe droughts, higher temperatures, and riverine flooding across key transport corridors. Recognizing the urgency of robust climate adaptation, GCA’s technical support will deliver high-resolution climate risk assessments, mapping the exposure and vulnerability of critical transport assets along the three corridors, and examining innovative solutions such as Nature-Based Solutions to safeguard infrastructure and surrounding communities. GCA’s work also includes gender-disaggregated analysis to understand how road disruptions affect women and girls disproportionately. In addition, the GCA Masterclass on Climate-Resilient Infrastructure and PPPs will strengthen the capacity of local authorities and national agencies to integrate climate resilience into project design, operation, and maintenance.
Through its targeted interventions, GCA is committed to ensuring that investments in Zambia’s transport assets are climate-informed and adaptation-ready. The project seeks to rehabilitate 200 kilometers of resilient roads, with 500,000 people directly benefiting from improvements and 800,000 people gaining enhanced access to essential services. The project is also looking at the country’s wider connectivity resilience by reinforcing the road network on three major corridors. Strengthened economic links between Zambia’s copper belt, agricultural production zones, and international markets will drive national development, while improved capacity among local institutions will embed climate considerations across infrastructure planning and delivery.
Situated at the heart of Southern Africa, Zambia relies heavily on its transport corridors to connect mineral exports, agricultural products, and communities to both regional and global markets. Copper production accounts for 80 percent of Zambia’s export values, with corridors linking the Indian and Atlantic Oceans. However, only 17 percent of Zambia’s population lives within two kilometers of an all-season road, highlighting the importance of reliable and climate-resilient transport for the movement of people, goods, and services. With climate projections showing an increase in temperature extremes and heavy precipitation events by 2080, improving year-round transport and trade connectivity between Zambia and Tanzania is more critical than ever.
GCA will remain actively engaged in helping Zambia adapt to escalating climate threats while retaining safe, efficient, and sustainable connectivity for its citizens. Its ongoing partnership with the World Bank Group, the Zambian government, and local communities will yield adaptation measures that fortify transport assets, protect livelihoods, and spur economic growth.
