New Walvis terminal set for 2018 opening

More than
half the
work on the
R4billion new
container terminal at the
Port of Walvis Bay has been
completed, and may even
be finished ahead of the
scheduled 2018 date.
“We started construction
in May 2014 with the
objective of completing the
project by the first quarter
of 2018, but we are ahead of
schedule and I’m optimistic
that we may even beat
our own deadline,” Elias
Mwenyo, senior manager:
commercial for the
Namibian ports authority,
Namport, told FTW on the
side lines of a Walvis Bay
Corridor Group (WBCG)
networking and information
sharing event recently.
He said the new
development would add
600 metres of quay length
and provide an additional
750 000-TEU capacity
per annum. “It will also
allow us to accommodate
increasingly larger
container vessels, making
us more competitive
globally,” said Nwenyo.
The largest vessel to call at
Walvis Bay to date had a
capacity of 9 800 TEUS.
Operational efficiency
will also be boosted
with the installation of
Namport’s first ship-toshore
cranes in the final
phase of the development,
he said.
According to Nwenyo, the
existing container terminal
will become a multi-purpose
terminal with deep water
berths once the new container
terminal becomes operational.
CAPTION
An artist’s rendering of the proposed new container terminal.