Namport focuses on fuel-saving benefits for Gauteng shippers

Eager to boost its use by SA shippers, and enjoying some success already attracting over-border business to its Atlantic coastal ports of Walvis Bay and Luderitz, the Namibian Ports Authority (Namport) is highlighting an issue foremost on many shippers’ minds and bottom lines this year: fuel savings. “From Gauteng to Walvis Bay it is a 48 hour trip. We’ve spoken to truckers, and they say they are saving R4 000 in fuel per trip because it’s shorter. In transport, fuel costs are becoming more of an issue, and they are likely to go up,” said Elias Mwenyo, sales and services manager for Namport. More container ships use Namibia’s ports than general cargo or other vessels, and the ports are geared to swiftly handle boxes. Shippers have lauded the lack of congestion and speed of operations at the Namport-run ports, prompting the port authority to market the facilities as the place to use for time-intensive commodities. “The SA automotive industry is one business we are targeting, because manufacturers in South Africa operate on a ‘just in time’ management system. They can use Namibia’s ports to bring in the parts faster than from other ports,” said Mwenyo. Fastest transit time from Gauteng to Walvis Bay port by road is via the Trans Kalahari Corridor through Botswana. Luderitz’s cold-storage capacity includes a privately owned and operated 2500-m2 warehouse. The port’s reefer capacity stands at 72 reefer plug points.Walvis Bay’s port has total cold storage capacity of 14 000-m2, and reefer slots for 520 refrigerated containers. Ten months into operation, a 9700m² reefer terminal can handle 256 reefer containers.