Africa’s intermodal transport debate is often framed around corridors, railways, ports and roads. Yet airports are an essential part of that system, particularly where cargo is time-sensitive, high-value, perishable or linked to export-led growth.
That point was reinforced during the recent Land-Linked Zambia 2026 panel discussion, Beyond Borders: Building Africa’s Intermodal Transport System, which placed aviation within the wider logistics chain rather than outside it. It is a simple but important point. Airports cannot be planned as standalone assets if they are expected to support trade, tourism, agriculture, emergency logistics and regional connectivity.
For aviation, this is particularly important in the air cargo sector. An airport may provide the fastest leg of the journey, but the aircraft is only one part of the movement. Freight still has to reach the airport, be handled correctly, cleared efficiently, loaded safely and moved onward at destination. The performance of the air cargo system, therefore, depends as much on road access, rail connectivity, customs processes, cold chain facilities, cargo handling equipment, fuel availability and digital visibility as it does on runway and terminal capacity.
This is where Africa’s intermodal planning debate becomes directly relevant to airports. Infrastructure alone will not resolve the continent’s transport constraints unless the different parts of the system are planned together and aligned with the economic sectors they are meant to serve.
Intermodal transport systems already exist in parts of Africa. Zambia’s Kapiri Mposhi District has been designated as a transport and logistics hub, located where four major transport corridors interact: the Central Corridor, the North-South Corridor, the Walvis Bay–Ndola–Lubumbashi Corridor and the Lobito Corridor. It is also where the TAZARA Railway terminates and where the Zambia Railways line passes, connecting the Democratic Republic of the Congo through Zambia to the ports of Beira, Nacala, Dar es Salaam and South Africa.
The Zambian government’s plan to develop an intermodal dry port at Kapiri Mposhi is intended to support the transhipment of goods between road and rail. Plans for a cargo airport and supporting infrastructure add another layer to that ambition, showing how aviation can form part of a wider logistics system rather than operate as a separate mode.
Tanzania provides a further example through Kwala Dry Port, which has been designated as an intermodal facility connected to the Port of Dar es Salaam by the Standard Gauge Railway. Cargo destined for Zambia, Malawi, the Democratic Republic of the Congo and other neighbouring countries can move by rail from the port to the dry port before being transhipped onto trucks for onward movement. Kenya’s Standard Gauge Railway and the Nairobi Inland Container Depot also show how inland logistics platforms can support regional cargo flows.
These examples show that intermodal planning is not an abstract policy ambition. It is already shaping how cargo moves from ports to inland markets and across borders. The same logic needs to apply to airports, particularly where governments are seeking to grow exports, attract investment and reduce logistics costs.
Zambia Airports Corporation Limited manages and maintains nine operational airports, including four international airports and five domestic airports, with a further four expected to be added to its network. The role of that network extends beyond passenger movement. It is also intended to open areas for travel, tourism and trade.
Africa spends about 4% of GDP on infrastructure, compared with 14% in countries such as China. Annual infrastructure needs for Africa have been placed between $130 billion and $170 billion, with the existing financing gap estimated at roughly $70 billion. However, closing that financing gap will not, on its own, resolve Africa’s infrastructure challenges.
The issue is not only the amount of money available. It is also the way infrastructure is planned. Airport, port, rail and road authorities often make investment decisions within their own mandates, leaving gaps in the wider transport system.
For an intermodal system to function properly, cargo movement must be seamless not only physically, but also administratively. If cargo has to be offloaded, transferred to another mode and then subjected to separate waybills, clearances and paperwork at each stage, the system is not truly intermodal.
The desired model is a single movement from the customer’s perspective. Cargo should be placed into the system, paid for through a single window and delivered to its destination, regardless of how many transport modes are involved. This places customs, border management and revenue authorities at the centre of the intermodal agenda. Without their involvement, physical infrastructure alone will not deliver a seamless system.
Administrative friction also has to be reduced. If aviation is intended to provide the fastest leg of the journey, cargo cannot be delayed by border control processes, repeated customs requirements or unnecessary paperwork. Border management agencies, customs authorities and revenue authorities need to be included in system design so that cargo can move once, pay once and continue through to the market.
Designing Airports for the Cargo They Serve
Airport investment has to begin with the type of cargo an airport is expected to handle. Perishable exports, medicines, emergency supplies, freshly cut flowers and high-value goods do not place the same demands on infrastructure. Each requires different handling, storage, security and clearance arrangements.
For perishable goods, cold storage is essential. Where farming blocks are producing fresh produce for export, crops need to move efficiently from the farm to the airport, be handled correctly and be kept in the right conditions until they are loaded onto an aircraft. If the cold chain breaks before the cargo reaches the aircraft, the value of that cargo is compromised.
High-value cargo brings a different set of requirements. Security integration, protected storage and appropriate handling become critical before goods are moved onward. In both cases, the issue is not simply whether an airport has a cargo facility, but whether that facility is suited to the cargo it is expected to process.
This is why airport investment needs to be demand-led. Before deciding what to build, planners need to understand where cargo is being generated, which sectors will use the air freight system and what capacity will be required over time. If a country is pursuing export-led growth through agriculture, airport planning has to align with agricultural production, land use and commerce. Agriculture must help identify and unlock production. Land planning must support farming blocks. Commerce must support export opportunities. Once those elements are aligned, infrastructure projects become more bankable and less risky for financiers.
The required investments may include cargo terminals, freight stations, cold chain facilities and cargo handling equipment. If a plan expects a certain tonnage in its first year, the infrastructure must be sized for that requirement, with room to expand as volumes grow. High loaders, pallets and related equipment are also needed to move cargo properly between the terminal and the aircraft.
Digital systems are increasingly part of that requirement. Visibility across the chain allows operators to track where goods are, whether they are being kept at the correct temperature and whether farm, airport and handling processes are connected.
Fuel infrastructure also has to be considered. As cargo volumes grow, there will be a greater requirement for fuel uplift. Air cargo growth depends on a wider support system, not only terminal space.
For Africa’s intermodal transport agenda, the central question is what the system is meant to enable. If the objective is export-led growth, then agriculture, health, commerce, land use, road access, rail connectivity, cold chain infrastructure, customs processes and airport capacity have to be planned together.
Airports have a clear role in Africa’s intermodal transport system, especially where cargo is urgent, perishable or high-value. That role can only be fulfilled if aviation is included from the planning stage, together with the road, rail, customs, digital, fuel and handling systems required to make air cargo work. Otherwise, airports risk being treated as isolated infrastructure assets, rather than active nodes in a connected logistics system.
