The Sunday Mail
Sunday Mail Reporter
Construction of Zimbabwe’s US$3,4 million dry port at Walvis Bay in Namibia is about 80 percent complete, with the harbour expected to be functional in the first half of 2017. In 2009, Namibia granted Zimbabwe 19 000 square metres of land to build a dry port. Initially, the dry port was supposed to be completed in 2013, but funding shortages temporarily halted work.
The project is being spearheaded by Road Motor Services, a unit of the National Railways of Zimbabwe, in partnership with the Namibian Port Authority. Industry and Trade Minister Mike Bimha was in Namibia last week for a Sadc Trade Ministers’ meeting and was apprised on progress.
Minister Bimha told The Sunday Mail that the dry port would offer Zimbabwe an alternative route for exports and imports. Zimbabwe, a landlocked developing country, depends on Beira and Durban ports for transit and access to the seas.
It is estimated that importers and exporters could save more than 10 days in transit time to markets in Europe and the Americas via the Walvis Bay Dry Port. Said Minister Bimha, “About 80 percent of the construction work has been completed and I am informed that the port will operate, maybe during the first half of next year. When the port becomes operational it will give us more options in terms of our trade routes for both imports and exports.
“The port will be a massive facility equipped with warehouses and other amenities to facilitate storage and movement of goods with little hustle. This all feeds into our goal as Government to support the industrialisation of our country as this facility will assist our industry in terms ease when exporting overseas.”
Construction of the port is in line with the Sadc Regional Infrastructure Master Plan, a 15-year blueprint guiding implementation of inter-state infrastructure projects between 2013 and 2027.
Botswana has already completed construction of its 36 000-square metre dry port at Walvis Bay, while Zambia’s dry port facility has been operational for over five years now. Namibia’s western coast is a natural gateway for regional trade, offering landlocked Southern African countries direct trade links with the rest of the world.
Walvis Bay’s deep water harbour is one of the most efficient natural ports on Africa’s west coast, with significant capacity to store and move cargo. The port receives more than 3 000 vessels, moves about 5 000 tonnes of cargo and has the potential to accommodate up to 350 000 containers yearly.
