Work is progressing
well on the port
infrastructure
required to transform
Namibia into a logistics hub serving
its neighbouring Southern African
Development Community (SADC)
countries.
Volumes of cargo moving through
Walvis Bay and on the country’s
railway lines are set to double
if the harbour is successful in
positioning itself as the preferred
port on the African west coast, and
the gateway for a logistics corridor
serving southern and central Africa,
according to Johny Smith, chief
executive officer of the Walvis Bay
Corridor Group (WBCG).
Government is providing the
necessary legislative and enabling
environment by prioritising logistics
in its fourth five-year national
development plan.
Support from government also
helped raise the finance for a new
US$86-million container terminal
in the port of Walvis Bay that will
double container capacity to around
650 000 TEUs a year.
Construction is running on – or
ahead of – schedule, and the port is
set to be operational in 2017.
Road and rail networks between
Walvis Bay and the neighbouring
countries are also being strengthened
in support of the vision to be the
regional SADC logistics hub.
The member states of the
Walvis Bay-Ndola-Lubumbashi
Development Corridor (WBNLDC),
comprising Namibia, Zambia and
the Democratic Republic of Congo
(DRC) have signed an agreement
with Zambian consortium Epinsan
to link the region’s rail system.
According to the WBCG, the
South Africa-based Epinsan
Consortium is preparing to
commence with the detailed design
of the Solwezi-Lumwana-Kaoma-
Mulobezi-Sesheke rail line in 2016.
It will link to the rail systems of
Namibia through Zambia to the
Democratic Republic of Congo
(DRC).
A Public Private Partnership
(PPP) agreement was signed
between the Epinsan Consortium
and the Government of Zambia in
2009 to build the line.
A subsequent feasibility study
has recommended a route starting
from the ore-rich province of
Katanga at Fungulume in the
DRC down to Lumwana mines in
Zambia with links to Solwezi, to
Kasempa mines, Kataba and to
Kaoma mines, down to Mulobezi
Saw Mills and Sesheke and then
out into Namibia to the Port of
Walvis Bay.
The project will further create
synergies, with plans by the
Namibian Government to extend
the existing rail network from
Grootfontein to the Zambian
border at Katima Mulilo via
Rundu and the Zambezi Strip,
according to the WBCG.
In addition, the project will
offer potential transport benefits
to the agricultural, forestry,
manufacturing and tourism
sectors in the three member states.
The logistics hub project is being
managed under the umbrella of the
WBCG.
CAPTION
The Port of Walvis Bay ... set to double container capacity.
