Multi-billion rand port expansion attracts investment

South African and

international logistics

companies, freight

forwarders and clearing

agents are setting up offices or

buying out local companies in Walvis

Bay and Windhoek in anticipation

of growth in freight volumes moving

through the port of Walvis Bay.

They are responding to a multibillion

rand expansion of Walvis Bay

into what will become twin ports

that are planned to be developed over

the next 50 years.

This has resulted in a crowding

of the market-place. Increased

competition is helping raise service

levels and reduce rates – which

in turn make Walvis Bay more

attractive as a gateway.

Work is already well under way

on a new container terminal for the

existing port, while a liquid bulk

terminal for hydrocarbons is the

first phase of the development of an

“SADC” port.

Working round the clock and

seven days a week, Chinese engineers

and workers assisted by local

Namibians have completed the bulk

of the dredging and fill for the new

container terminal, which is on

schedule for commissioning in 2018,

according to port engineer Elzevir

Gelderbloem.

A new 40-hectare spit of land

has literally risen out of the waters

of Walvis Bay since the last visit by

FTW a year ago.

Piles have already been driven into

the sea bed for the container quay,

and the structure is being capped

before rails can be installed for the

ship-to-shore gantries.

With a chart datum depth of

16 metres the terminal will be able to

accommodate 8 000-TEU vessels.

It is designed to handle 750 000

TEUs a year.

Commissioned by the Namibian

ministry of Mines and Energy, the

work currently under way on the

liquid bulk terminal includes the

dredging of an entrance channel

and turning basin, two 60 000-dwt

tanker berths, and the associated

equipment and storage facilities.

Ground was broken in March

2015, and the facility is due to be

commissioned in 2017, according to

Gelderbloem.

A 100-hectare piece of land is

already zoned for tank farms, and

will form part of the liquid bulk

terminal.

Once it is fully developed the

terminal will be able to handle any

liquid product.

It is a relatively small part of the

SADC port, which will handle bulk

imports and exports for Namibia and

its SADC neighbours.

Covering 1 330 hectares of land,

development will take place in more

than 20 phases, catering for port

growth over the next 50 years or

more, according to Gelderbloem.

The next phase in the pipeline is a

multipurpose bulk terminal capable

of handling around 10 million tons

a year.

A feasibility study is due to be

commissioned this year, with

construction starting in 2017 and

completion in 2019/2020, he says.

The existing port will have a

makeover once the new terminals are

operational.

It is to be used for “cleaner” port

operations such as container and ship

repair, breakbulk and dry bulk.

All that is needed now is for the

rail and road links to the hinterland

to be upgraded – both of which are

projects backed by the Namibian

government.

With a relatively small population

of 1.3 million, Namibia does not have

a viable local market for imports or

manufactured goods.

That has to come from the greater

SADC area – a market of around

three million.

This concern was one of the

common themes in the interviews

conducted by FTW during its annual

visit to Namibia in May this year.

But there is an underlying

confidence that the government,

assisted by the private sector, will

be able to provide the landside

connections.

So far it has confounded the

doubters and critics by transforming

a sleepy fishing harbour into what

will be one of the most modern

serving the SADC region.

And the National Roads Authority

(NRA) has set aside R990 million

for the construction of roads for the

2016/17 financial year.

The road expansion network

forms part of the country’s

ambition to become the logistics

centre of the South African

Development Community (SADC),

Fillemon Hileni, NRA’s corporate

communication manager was quoted

as saying by online newspaper the

Southern Times.

Savvy logistics and shipping

companies are positioning

themselves for the potential growth

in the flow of goods through the port.

CAPTION

An aerial photo of the new Walvis Bay

container terminal in April 2016.