The South African state of Namibia has launched an expanded container terminal at the Port of Walvis Bay, expected to form a new chapter in the country’s economic transformation.
Namibian President Hage Geingob officially launched the refurbished harbour on 2 August, together with Gerson Hinda, Chairperson of the Board the Namibian Port Authority (Namport) and Noel Kulemeka, Operations Manager of the Southern Africa office of the African Development Bank, representing Akinwumi A. Adesina, the Bank’s President.
The expansion of the port is the completion of a project co-financed by the Bank to support Namibia in establishing the port of Walvis Bay as the preferred port for southern and central African logistics operations on the west coast of the continent.
What we are witnessing today is thus a culmination of a long-cherished vision of transforming the predominantly fishing harbour that was Walvis Bay, which we inherited at independence, into Africa Express Hub to International Markets,
…said Geingob.
In 2013, the Bank approved a loan of $ 200 million for the expansion of the container terminal on 40 ha of reclaimed land. The expansion works also encompassed the provision of equipment that included four ship-to-shore cranes.
The port expansion is expected to triple current handling capacity of 355,000 TEUs to 1,005,000 TEUs, according to Noel Kulemeka.
(The expansion is) a turning point for not only Namibia but the southern Africa region, and indeed the continent, as we embark on the African Continental Free Trade Area journey,
…he said.
