Trans-Caprivi corridor gets Unctad funding
KEVIN MAYHEW
NAMPORT, part of the all-embracing Walvis Bay Corridor Group (WBCG) which is developing and promoting the Port of Walvis Bay as a major entry and exit route to southern Africa, is to open a dedicated sales office in Lusaka, Zambia, later this year.
Namport sales and service manager, Johny Smith, says the new office will be headed by a Zambian local well connected in the freight community of the landlocked, mineral rich country which is a vital transit hub.
“We believe that we need a strong presence on the ground to achieve the objectives of both Namport and the WBCG as we have set up the key infrastructure and now have to promote its attractions within the sub-continent. The completion of the Trans-Caprivi Corridor link has positioned us to begin to make a bigger impact within Zambia, which is a major growth centre in the sub-Saharan region,” he said.
However, this emphasis on Zambia
will not be at the expense of its other
focus – the Gauteng route using the
Trans-Kalahari Corridor.
At the port itself, Namport is planning a new road to service a new container facility, driven by the increased use of the port for container traffic following active marketing drives by the WBCG. Smith says they must now introduce an infrastructure that justifies importers and exporters’ faith in the west coast facility.
The new facility will increase capacity of the port by about a third of its present 150 000 containers per annum.
The port has recorded increased transhipments from South America for Angola – a market where he believes major opportunities exist, particularly as traffic can now go through Oshikango.
Outside of these specific port developments, the WBCG has also been the recipient of funding from the United Nations Commission for Trade and Development (Unctad) to facilitate the smoother running of its Trans-Caprivi Corridor. The Namibia-Botswana-Zambia corridor was one of three internationally deserving the world body’s support, according to the Group’s business development executive, Frank Gschwender. The funding begins this year and will establish cross-border forums to facilitate more seamless functioning of the Corridor.
A landmark pilot to test the competitiveness of Walvis Bay route for the automotive spares industry has also been undertaken with the results being assessed to establish its suitability for this growing Gauteng industry on the import and export radar screen.
