Dry port provides direct access to sea

The commissioning of a
Botswana dry port inside
the Walvis Bay harbour
precinct creates a number of
opportunities for exporters
and importers using the Trans
Kalahari Corridor, according to
Zunaid Pochee marketing and
business development specialist
for the Trans Kalahari Corridor
Secretariat (TKCS).
Covering 30 000 sqm, the
dry port is fully paved and
has sufficient space for a
warehouse.
Being inside the port fence it
is fully bonded.
Pochee believes that the
facility benefits both Botswana
and South African shippers.
If more Botswana imports
are routed through Walvis
Bay it will help even the loads
in and out of South Africa
and therefore bring down the
transport costs.
“We are calling on freight
forwarders in Botswana and
South Africa to work with
consignees in order to identify
back-hauls,” he says.
There are already signs that
the message is getting through,
with an increase in the quantity
of project cargo bound for the
mines in Botswana coming
through Walvis Bay.
“For shippers in Botswana,
Walvis Bay is the same distance
as Durban – but the freight
moves much more quickly
through the port and along the
corridor’s roads,” he says.