WBCG to set up offices in DRC, Brazil

The Port of Walvis Bay has
come a long way since
1994 when it was nothing
more than a stop-over for fishing
vessels. But now is not the time
to be complacent about successes
achieved – rather to remain
visionary and take the port and its
corridors to the next level.
This is according to Johny
Smith, CEO of the Walvis Bay
Corridor Group (WBCG), who
told FTW that in 2003 Walvis Bay
handled zero cargo for the region,
while last year it handled close to
half a million tons of cargo. “We
intend to increase this even more.
We are continuously talking to
shipping lines to have more calls at
Walvis Bay so that we can increase
our volumes.”
He said they were continuously
involved in building strategic
partnerships as part of efforts to
reduce costs of using the port
and its corridors and to enhance
the importance of the port in the
southern African region.
“We have continued to build
our footprint and now have offices
in Johannesburg and in Lusaka
in Zambia. We are set to open an
office in Lubumbashi in the DRC
next year as well as one in Brazil,
which is a very important market
for us as Walvis Bay is the shortest
link between South America and
southern Africa.”
Smith said with no congestion,
good road infrastructure along
the corridors and direct links with
major international markets, it
made sense for business to consider
Walvis Bay as their import and
export point.
“If one looks at southern Africa
as a very big mall then one must
see Walvis Bay as an entry into it.
Malls don’t just have one entry,
they have several, and that is where
we are positioning ourselves, not
as competition to any one port but
rather to complement this big area
that is southern Africa.”
He said while capacity on the
route was often still a challenge,
this remained an area on which
they were focusing to find
solutions.
He said it was important to
understand that just as people
don’t always go to the same shops,
neither does business. “There is a
need for different shops, different
ports in southern Africa, to provide
for the different needs of the
traders and logistics industry.”