TKC looks into rail capacity upgrade

Continued efforts to sensitise and educate people about the benefits of using the Walvis Bay Corridor for exporting and importing are paying off, says Johny Smith, CEO of the Walvis Bay Corridor Group (WBCG). Tasked with creating awareness around the corridor, the WBCG is a public private partnership initiative. “One of our main challenges has been to change the outlook of potential importers and exporters to utilise the Walvis Bay Corridors through the Port of Walvis Bay,” says Smith. “We have hosted various information sessions and attended trade fairs in Angola, Botswana, Gauteng and Zambia including the international markets, emphasising what the Walvis Bay Corridors can offer to potential importers and exporters.” And already there has been immense improvement. “Through sensitising people about the advantages the corridor has to offer such as shorter transit times, good safety and security as well as the increased capacity of the Walvis Bay port we are seeing more interest and activity along the corridor.” Using one of the three corridors, which include the TransKalahari Corridor, the Walvis Bay – Ndola – Lubumbashi Development Corridor and the TransCunene Corridor, makes sense, says Smith, especially when it comes to savings in transit time, which translate into savings on the whole supply chain. “Currently, fast turnaround times that the Port of Walvis Bay has been achieving and the reduction in time spent at the borders contribute to efficient operations. Clearance time at the border points along the TKC is about 30 minutes,” he says. Much is also happening when it comes to improving operations, with ongoing effort and talks to improve transit times. “In terms of developments along the TransKalahari Corridor (TKC) a pre-feasibility study is in progress, commissioned by the Botswana and Namibia governments, looking at increasing the rail capability,” says Smith. “The railway lines along the TransCunene Corridor extend from the Port of Walvis Bay to Ondangwa and the construction of the line from Ondangwa to Oshikango is in progress. “ According to Smith all role-players are on board to ensure the efficient movement of cargo, with the Namibian government having signed the necessary documents to create one stop border posts. “One of the major projects to increase capacity is the port expansion project which will commence during and increase port capacity to an additional 600,000 TEUs per annum,” he says.