There is ongoing investment in the Sea Rail dry port facility in the Walvis Bay harbour precinct in order to meet growing demand from neighbouring countries, according to dry port manager Derick Mokgatle.“We are in a continuous process of adding infrastructure and increasing capacity,” he says.The most recent addition to the Botswana Dry Port operated by Sea Rail is an under-roof storage shed suitable for commodities like copper and chemicals.“We expect the 3 000-square-metre warehouse to be full soon, but have space to build another one when the demand is there,” Mokgatle told Freight News. He anticipates volumes to keep growing as Walvis Bay has established itself as the most efficient port in the region.“Our facility is here to serve the whole of southern Africa, and not just Botswana,” he says.There is a growing number of clients based in Zambia. Before Covid-19 affected the region the dry port was packing Zambian timber bound for China.“We are expecting the timber to start moving again this year,” he says.The dry port is geared to handle containers, breakbulk, project cargo and vehicles.There are 300 parking bays, with room for more.“We are still doing a lot of vehicles from the United Kingdom. At present the dry port has 48 reefer points, but there is room for rapid expansion should there be sufficient demand.” According to Mokgatle, there is a definite increase in imports from the Far East through Walvis Bay – which he believes is due to shippers choosing Walvis Bay as a preferred port of entry into the SADC region “We expect the 3 000sqm warehouse to be full soon, but have space to build another one when the demand is there.– Derick Mokgatle
