Namport on track to more than double capacity

Construction of the new container terminal at the Walvis Bay Port is expected to start no later than mid 2010 with the new facilities fully operational by 2012, according to Elias Mwenyo, manager sales and services of the Namibian Port Authority (Namport). Speaking at a networking function organised by the Walvis Bay Corridor Group in Johannesburg last week, Mwenyo said the expansion plans would see the port increase its capacity to handle 500 000 TEUs per annum, more than double its current capacity. “The Port handles some 5.3 million tons of cargo per year with an average of 410 ships calling per month,” Mwenyo said. Expansion plans are all part of the plan to establish Walvis Bay as a gateway to the SADC region via the three corridors – the Trans Kunene, Trans Caprivi and the Trans Kalahari. He said the development of the Port also included construction of a new hydrocarbon liquid bulk tanker jetty while a new IT system would be implemented to speed up the efficiency of the new container terminal. “We are also investing heavily in new equipment which will include ship to shore cranes and rubber tyre gantries.”