Chairman of McDan Group, Dr. Daniel McKorley has encouraged the establishment of air and land transport fleet for the AfCFTA Trading Company across the continent.

According to him, the trade pact needs its own ships, cargo planes, and warehouses across the continent to help facilitate trade among member states.

He made this known at a meeting to discuss guided trade and the AfCFTA Trading Company.

McDan also indicated the importance of transportation for AfCFTA's growth, adding that, over 25 percent of intra-African trade gains in services would go to transport alone, and nearly 40 percent of the increase in Africa's service production would be in transport.

"AfCFTA is offering a lot of opportunities because it also has to do with air, such as intra-country air connections at cargo airports. The same thing that affects maritime also affects the air like the planes, airport, air insurance and legal regulations," McDan said.

"So, what is going to happen is that because there is an increment in demand, supply will have to increase to meet the demand. The maritime sector has a role to play in this, making sure that all these benefits are attractive to Africans. That is why it is important for AfCFTA to own its ships, cargo planes and warehouses," he added.

Africa’s air transport network includes a total of 14,762 air routes (connecting each airport with the other 121 airports), and implementing AfCFTA would double the number of tonnes transported by air from 2.3 to 4.5 million.

Estimates show that air traffic is expected to double in 2030 compared to 2019.

According to the research findings, AfCFTA requires 1,844,000 trucks for bulk cargo and 248,000 for container cargo by 2030. This increases to 1,945,000 and 268,000 trucks, respectively, if planned infrastructure projects are also implemented.

The largest demand for trucks to support AfCFTA is within West Africa (39 percent); demand from West to Southern Africa is 19.8 percent, and from Southern Africa to Western Africa is 9.9 percent.

The AfCFTA aims to promote industrialization and diversify economies by encouraging the development of regional value chains to create jobs and add value.

MA/NOQ

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