New container terminal boosts business confidence

year ago when FTW visited Walvis Bay the planned new container terminal was nothing more than a nondescript pile of equipment and a break in the quay wall. It is now an impressive structure stretching out into the bay, with dredgers and teams of Chinese and Namibian nationals working round the clock to complete the port by 2017. A 40-hectare facility is rising out of the sea bottom. The outline has been created through the placement of giant sand bags, with the fill being provided by the dredging of the approach channels and quaysides. According to Walvis Bay port engineer Elzevir Gelderbloem, the opening of the new 650 000- TEU terminal will allow for the reconfiguration of the activities in the existing port. Berths 1 and 2 will become multipurpose terminals. Berth 1 will be made available for ship and rig repair operations by 2017. Berths 2 and 3 will be used for bulk, break bulk and mixed vessels, and berths 4 to 8 rehabilitated and deepened. Seeing the cranes and dredgers at work in the port has given the local logistics and business community a boost. They have picked themselves up from the disappointment that the long-awaited oil and gas boom has been postponed due to the drop in oil prices and are now focusing on the opportunities being created by the new container terminal and all-new SADC gateway port. “The economic centre of Namibia is moving from Windhoek to Walvis Bay” is how one of the locals described the impact. Logistics companies are also investing in new warehouses and truck depots to accommodate the expected increase in cargo volumes. CAPTION An aerial view of work on the new container terminal in the port of Walvis Bay.