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.
