With the new deep-sea container terminal in the port of Walvis Bay nearing completion, the next challenge is to ensure that the port has efficient and competitive road and rail links with the rest of the country and neighbouring Southern African Development Community (SADC) countries, says Cedric Limbo, director of transportation policy and regulation in the Ministry of Works and Transport.
One of the first priorities is the completion of a road between Walvis Bay and Swakopmund which will take trucks off the busy coastal link and behind the dunes. It will also bypass Swakopmund.
This will reduce transit time and improve safety on the route.
On the eastern side the link between Walvis Bay and Botswana is being improved by upgrading the Windhoek to Gobabis road to a dual carriage highway.
Upgrades to the rail system have commenced with the purchase of railway lines.
There are plans to revive the Grootfontein to Katima Mulilo line project. This will take pressure off the roads and lower transport costs, he says. The government is also considering private public partnerships to develop multimodal inland transit and logistics hubs.
“Logistics hubs are on top of the government’s agenda,” he says.
Namibia has officially positioned itself as the preferred logistics hub for neighbouring land-linked SADC countries, southern Angola and the Northern Cape.
The ongoing investment in the port, roads and rail provides far more capacity than the just more than two million Namibians need.
“But it makes sense when you see there are 300 million people living in the SADC countries,” he says.
The ministry also sees air links as an important ingredient in the logistics mix.
Cargo and passenger capacity at the Hosea Kutako International airport outside Windhoek will be “upgraded to an international level,” he says.
Commenting on competition in the form of upgraded facilities in Dar es Salaam, Beira and Durban, Limbo says: “Walvis Bay should be seen as complementing the SADC port system rather than being in competition. Durban and Beira are saturated. We provide an alternative.”
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One of the first priorities is the completion of a road between Walvis Bay and Swakopmund. – Cedric Limbo
