Construction of Namibia’s Walvis Bay on verge of completion, handling capacity to increase

Namport Manager of Corporate Communications, Tana Pesat revealed on May 8 that Chinese-firm built Namibia’s Walvis Bay is on the verge of getting completed.

According to Tana Pesat, the construction of Walvis Bay is 96 percent complete. It has reached the final stages where the construction workers are just working on the final touches. "We are on schedule and in the final round of construction. This is a big project that the whole country is looking forward to," Pesat said.

Construction of the new terminal which is envisioned to position the country as a regional logistics hub and gateway is expected to be fully finalized at the end of June. China Harbour Engineering Company Ltd. Started construction work in 2014 while the African Development Bank provided USD 300 million funding for the container terminal being constructed on 40 hectares of land reclaimed from the sea, as reported by Xinhua.

After completion, the container handling capacity is expected to increase from the current 350,000 containers to 750,000 per annum. Situated on Africa's western coast, the modernized and larger port will mean easier and much faster transit between Southern Africa, Europe, Asia and the Americas.

Zambia was the dominant market for transit cargo, and accounted for 51,8 percent of all inbound transit cargo via the port in 2017, up from 47.9 percent in 2016, which represents a 50.9 percent increase in the volume of imports to that country. Similarly, Zambian exports comprising mostly copper and wood products accounted for 85.7 percent of total outbound transit cargo by volume (metric tonnes), up from 72.5 percent in 2016, Namibian reported.

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