The Namibia Ports Authority (Namport), local business, the TKS, local municipality and political leaders are supporting a Walvis Bay Truck Park and Staging Project by NKNO Fuels Namibia.
The support was pledged at a recent stakeholder meeting in Walvis Bay.
The need for a staging facility outside the town comes from the growth in port volumes, resulting in around 750 trucks a day going into and out of Walvis Bay.
This pressure on the city’s infrastructure is forecast to double over the medium term.
A trip through town by Freight News found trucks parked practically wherever there was space, with the roads in a very poor condition due to the truck traffic.
Buy-in from the municipality and local and regional political leadership is needed to cut through the remaining red tape.
Walvis Bay mayor, Trevino Forbes, said: “I would like to extend gratitude to the Namibian government and the regulatory authorities for their guidance, permissions and enduring support; to the local communities and traditional leaders for welcoming this initiative and sharing feedback; industry partners, contractors and service providers for your expertise, professionalism and commitment; and to the financial institutions and investors whose confidence accelerates our shared goals; as well as the NKNO team whose dedication made this project possible.”
Erongo Region Governor, Natalia ǀGoagoses, said the truck staging facility was in line with the development goals of the government.
“In terms of logistics and trade efficiency, truck staging, streamlined flow and integrated systems, it will definitely reduce delays, lower costs and strengthen the port’s standing in regional rate corridors,” she said.
Namport chief executive officer, Andrew Kanime, described the truck facility as an outcome of the National Development Plan 4, which sought to establish Namibia as a regional logistics hub with Walvis Bay as the gateway.
“The truck park and staging facility is a key infrastructure development that is core to the ability and capacity of our port town of Walvis Bay to fully and efficiently handle the traffic of local and regional trucks conveying imports and exports between our Namibian ports and our landlocked sister countries,” he said.
“I really look forward to the commencement of the construction activities so that we can really continue to position the port and the town of Walvis Bay to be the regional logistics hub for the region.”
For its part, NKNO has secured the land from the municipality, and the funding for the project, according to Dries Oberholzer, operations director of NKNO Fuels Namibia.
He told Freight News that it would be technology driven, providing more than safe parking, fuel, basic repairs, food and ablution facilities.
NKNO has partnered with ICE Tech, the company behind the digitization of the Beitbridge and Kasumbalesa border crossings, as well as a number of other logistics operations.
The plan is for truck paperwork to be processed in the staging facility, and trucks will only enter town after being called by the port or other loading facilities such as the fuel depot.
There is space to extend the initial six-hectare facility which will be able to stage around 160 trucks at a time.
It would take four months to be operational once the project was given permission by the authorities, he told the meeting.
