Drought relief will demonstrate strength of corridors

The importation and

movement of millions of

tons of maize through

Walvis Bay and along

the Walvis Bay Corridors should

have a positive long-term spinoff

for Namibia’s positioning

as a Southern African

Development Community

(SADC) hub, believes Philip

Coetzee, general manager of

Woker Freight Services.

“Moving drought relief

cargo will give shippers the

opportunity to test the route

and to see that it works.

“This is a completely new

commodity and it gives us the

opportunity to demonstrate the

value of the

corridors,” he

says.

Export

volumes

through the

port of Walvis

Bay should also

benefit as the

rates on the

return leg will

be extremely

competitive.

Momentum built up by the

movement of the maize will

continue once the crisis is over

because the corridors will be

better known,

and shippers

will have more

confidence in

them, he says.

Meeting the

demand is going

to be a challenge.

“It will take

around 750

trucks to move

maize from just

one 25 000 ton vessel.

“Technically, the port can

handle the volume, but we will

need rail to help move the maize

out of Walvis Bay because there

is not enough warehouse space

here for it.

“We are also already talking

to hauliers from the rest of the

region,” he says.

For companies like Woker the

drought relief also creates an

opportunity.

By “reinventing” itself and

rising to the challenge Woker

will be able to prove to shippers

that Walvis Bay and the

corridors have the capacity to

handle a wide range of cargo,

including bulk.

INSERT & CAPTION

It will take around 750

trucks to move maize from

just one 25 000-ton vessel. “– Philip Coetzee