WBCG opens Jo’burg office

THE Walvis Bay Corridor
Group last week opened an
office in Johannesburg to
promote Namibia’s ports
to SA shippers.
“The office will focus
on the Johannesburg and
Botswana markets,” said
WBCG CEO Johny Smith,
speaking from Windhoek.
The Gauteng office is
located in Germiston, close
to the facilities of several
freight forwarders.
It’s a one-man
operation for now, staffed
by a business development
specialist.
“All other support
services we offer out of
Windhoek,” said Smith.
Last year, in preparation
for establishing a
permanent presence in
Johannesburg, a team was
sent to visit major SA
corporations as part of a
port awareness campaign.
Namport operates the
ports of Walvis Bay and
Luderitz, and is keen to
position the facilities in the
minds of SA shippers as
alternatives to Cape Town
and Durban. Walvis Bay’s
geographic location offers
the shortest trade route
between southern Africa,
Europe and the Americas.
SA shippers have told
FTW that Namibia’s
ports of Walvis Bay and
Luderitz require a greater
number of EU and Asianbound
ships to make them
attractive alternatives.
SA and Botswana
shipments to the ports are
handled by road, via the
Trans-Kalahari Highway.
SA’s rail link with Botswana
is established, but the
Gaborone to Walvis Bay
line is incomplete, falling
700 km short on the
Botswana side and
100 km short of the border
on Namibia’s side, ending
at Gobabis.
“A feasibility study is
under way as a first step
for the Botswana rail link,”
said Smith.