Walvis Bay corridor opens new options to DRC and Tanzania

CAPITALISING ON new opportunities created by the
opening up of the Walvis Bay Corridor, overborder
roadfreight specialist AMR has signed a deal with
a Namibian-based trucking operation for the
movement of cargo into the rest of Africa.
“We have access to a fleet of 10 trucks and
are serving the Democratic Republic of Congo and
Tanzania from Walvis Bay,” says AMR MD Florence
Ross.
“We’ve aligned ourselves with a highly competent
operator and are achieving turnaround times to the
DRC of 4-5 days. We’ve also signed a contract with a
freight forwarder and are moving five trucks a week
to the DRC. Tanzania is also building up for us.”
While AMR still serves Tanzania from South Africa,
for shippers who have opted for Walvis Bay discharge,
it’s an efficient route, she says.
“The trucks are controlled from South Africa which
allows us to bring them here to load for Angola.”
The company’s most lucrative routes include
Angola, DRC, Tanzania and Mozambique with the
mining industry a strong driver.
“We’ve also opened up nicely in Lesotho and
Swaziland.”
In terms of the challenges facing transporters
into Africa, Ross has one piece of advice: “Know and
understand the rules and regulations and you can
minimise any delays.
“You need to be totally prepared before you
despatch your truck.
“Delays in the DRC are largely caused by
importers who haven’t paid their duties and
taxes. Borders will always be a problem to the
inexperienced operator.”
Having just celebrated AMR’s second year in
business, Ross is bullish about the future. “Africa
has been very good to us and with a number
of new deals with major operators about to be
signed, we expect more of the same in the year
ahead.”