Namport's marketing drive bears fruit

A CONCERTED drive to increase volumes is literally bearing fruit for the Namibian Ports Authority with the expectation of greater grape exports at Walvis Bay when harvesting commences next month. Other numbers are up too for products shipped and received thanks to a good agricultural season, the influx of inland cargo from Zambia and other nations using the new Katima Mulilo Bridge spanning the Zambezi River, and an effective marketing campaign by the Walvis Bay Corridor Group (WBCG), says Namport public relations officer JoAnn Stevens. “The Trans Caprivi Corridor promises to be a viable alternative for commodities such as copper and agricultural commodities, construction materials, machinery and vehicles,” said Sebby Kankondi, Namport MD and chairman of the WBCG. With the World Food Programme using Walvis Bay in 2007 to ship emergency food aid to Zambia, volumes along the Trans Caprivi Corridor are expected to track or better last year’s rise of 55% over 2005. To accommodate perishables, by December a 9700m² Walvis Bay reefer terminal will house 256 reefer containers. This will effectively double the port’s capacity to handle reefers, and thus fruit and vegetable exports from around SADC. Namport is looking beyond Namibia’s agriculture and industry for port customers, and this year dispatched a team to brief exporters in South Africa and other nations about expanding capabilities at Walvis Bay and Luderitz.