Gauteng marketing office to be set up

TONNAGE CARRIED on the Walvis Bay corridor routes grew by over 43% between 2006 and 2007, according to Walvis Bay Corridor Group chairman Sebby Kankondi. In his chairman’s report for 2007, Kankondi says tonnage carried on the routes increased from 121 826 to 174 299 tons year-on year. All four corridor routes performed well. They are the Trans Caprivi from Walvis Bay to Livingstone, Lusaka and Ndola in Zambia and Lubumbashi in the Democratic Republic of Congo and Zimbabwe; the Trans-Cunene Corridor linking Walvis Bay to southern Angola; the Trans-Cunene Corridor “perfectly positioned” through its tarred road and rail network to service two-way trade between Angola, Namibia, and South Africa with Europe, the Americas and the Far East; and the Trans- Kalahari Corridor which, according to Kankondi, has the biggest potential for growth. He says the corridor and its connection through the port of Walvis Bay gives importers and exporters based in Gauteng and surrounds “an alternative route”. Achievements over the past year include negotiating longer opening hours at the Botswana/ Namibian border and the standardisation of documentation. The corridor allows for a 48 hour transit time between the port of Walvis Bay and Gauteng – and a full-time office is being established in Gauteng to market the route. The opening of an office in Zambia and the appointment of a full-time programme co-ordinator for the Trans Caprivi Corridor are growing volumes along this route, according to Kankondi. It will be given a further boost with the strengthening of the Okavango River bridge, which is limited to a standard load of 60 tons at present. Companies have been invited to tender for the widening and upgrading of the bridge, which links Namibia to the Zambian Copper Belt. Angola’s rapidly growing economy is reflected in ever increasing volumes of freight being carried between Walvis Bay and southern Angola. Intermodal road and rail services are provided, with the rail system being expanded to the Angolan border.