MSC subsidiary Terminal Investment Limited (TIL) has been awarded the concession to run the Walvis Bay container terminal.
This was announced on Friday at a media conference by Namport CEO Andrew Kanime.
Based in Geneva, Switzerland, MSC has interests in more than 60 terminals in 31 countries across five continents, and handles at least 60 million TEUs a year, according to Kanime.
“We are happy with the business case proposed by TIL and are confident that this is aligned to the fundamental objectives we have set for the concession of the NCT (New Container Terminal),” he said.
“The next stage of the process will be to commence negotiations between Namport and TIL on the Concession Agreement, focusing on the detailed operational matters, including the exact terms and conditions of the personnel to be taken over by the operator.
“This will culminate in the formal award of the concession, the signing of the Concession Agreement, and the handover of the cargo handling operations to the private operator or concessionaire. We envisage finalising the negotiation and handover process by the first quarter of 2023.
“All objectives of the concession exercise such as increase in cargo volumes, investment commitment, and employment guarantees will be solidified in the Concession Agreement, with penalties set for the non-attainment of the set and agreed performance and volume targets,” he said.
Five operators were invited to bid, with two submitting proposals, according to Kanime.
He also announced that Namport had returned to an operating profit in the financial year ended in March.
The volumes of containerised and bulk cargo increased year on year by 8% and 9% respectively.
Cross-border volumes increased by 10% to 1 606 984 tons (2021: 1 464 100 tons) representing 24% of total cargo volumes handled.
The total corridor volumes comprised 550 113 tons destined for the hinterland and 1 056 872 tons from the hinterland.
The overall vessel gross tonnage increased by 3.4 million tons or 21.6%.
The increase in vessel calls was mainly due to the increase in petroleum, research, dry bulk, roll-on-roll-off, foreign tugs, and foreign fishing vessels.
Revenue for the year ended March 31amounted to N$1.23 billion (R1.23bn), up from N$1.11bn in the previous financial year and representing an increase of (11%).
“Conversely, our operational expenditure remained flat, having only increased by a nominal 0.1% year on year from N$1.005bn in the preceding financial year to N$1.006bn for the year ended 31st of March 2022.
“Operating profit for the year increased from N$121m to N$374m and excluding the non-operational income of N$147m, the year-on-year increase in operational profitability amounts to 88%,” he announced.
