Available capacity at the Port of Walvis Bay, currently operating at roughly 25% of its 750 000-TEU-per-annum potential, means volume growth is on the cards for one of sub-Saharan Africa’s most happening ports, said Reload Logistics. The distributor’s warehouse manager, Joël van der Waal, said the company already served several ports in the region, namely Beira, Durban and Dar es Salaam.But it’s at Walvis Bay that they are keeping a keen eye on potential volume growth.“The port is running fairly well and we’re happy with what we’re seeing. We have also taken notice of projected expansion plans at North Port (between Walvis and Long Beach) to accommodate landside support for offshore energy sector developments along Namibia’s coast.“This includes infrastructural developments related to green hydrogen plants that are in the pipeline,” he said.“It all bodes well for Walvis and we believe that it could very well become the port of choice in our region.”But there were a few provisos, Van der Waal said, primarily in relation to operating hours.“Unlike other ports, Walvis Bay still closes over weekends, so you can’t move any containers. If they extend operational output at the port – by adding more stacking days, for example – we should be able to not only increase volumes but also move containers faster.”Such changes will hopefully be seen once Mediterranean Shipping Company subsidiary Terminal Investment Limited (TIL) takes over operations at the port.It is widely anticipated among private-sector stakeholders that the TIL development will bring about the long-awaited take-up of cargo at Walvis Bay, saddled as it is with a port upgrade that has become a debt burden, ballooning from $3.5 billion initially, increasing to $4.2bn, and now apparently sitting at more than $5bn.
