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.”