Walvis Bay Aims to Strengthen Its Competitive Advantage

The Namibian Port Authority (Namport) believes that recent developments in railway and port infrastructure across the Southern African Development Community (SADC) region, particularly in countries such as Malawi, Mozambique, Zambia, the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Angola, Botswana, Zimbabwe, and Tanzania, have significant implications for Walvis Bay’s role as a key gateway for trade and logistics within SADC.

Responding to questions, Namport said the development of competing ports in the region may initially seem like a threat to Walvis Bay, but Namport said it also presents an opportunity for Walvis Bay to strengthen its competitive advantage.

Furthermore, the company pointed out that this opportunity would be done through improved services and infrastructure investments such as the widening and deepening of the port, procurement of modern cargo handling equipment and upgrades to quayside infrastructure for enhanced operational efficiency.

Moreover, Namport said reducing turnaround times for vessels for Walvis Bay can attract more shipping lines that seek reliable access to southern African markets.

The company believes that new railway lines will facilitate smoother transit between neighbouring countries and added that Walvis Bay also benefits from increased regional trade volumes. The company said the port will serve as a transhipment hub where goods are consolidated before being distributed inland or exported globally.

Namport recently handed over the container handling operations at the new container terminal in the Walvis Bay harbour to Terminal Investment Namibia (TIN), the local subsidiary of Terminal Investment Limited (TIL), part of the Mediterranean Shipping Company (MSC) group. TIN will operate and manage the container terminal for 25 years in line with the provisions of the concession agreement. The terminal has an annual throughput capacity of 750,000 Twenty-Foot Equivalent Units (TEUs).

Furthermore, Namport said the extensive experience that Terminal Investment Limited brings from its global operations will significantly benefit Namport in several ways such as enhanced operational efficiencies, this includes optimizing cargo handling processes, reducing turnaround times for vessels, and improving overall terminal productivity.

Namport said expansion plans started with the deepening and widening of the Port of Walvis Bay, which will enable larger container vessels to call the container terminal.

TIN will also procure additional container handling equipment and make infrastructure improvements on the terminal itself very soon. Longer-term expansion plans are aimed at enlarging the container terminal to increase throughput capacity even further, Namport said.

In addition, Namport said dredging for the widening and deepening of the Port of Walvis Bay to accommodate larger container vessels will be concluded by the middle of 2025.

Written for Railways Africa by Chamwe Kaira