A new container terminal at a Namibian port is now fully operational, according to a report by the African Development Bank (ADB).

The new terminal at Namibian Ports Authority’s (Namport) Port of Walvis Bay, built between 2014 and 2019 and commissioned in August 2019, is constructed on 40 hectares of land reclaimed from the ocean as part of a nearly US$300m project, said the ADB.

It noted “the expansion has steered  Walvis Bay towards becoming a logistics hub for southern Africa that aims to meet the growing demand for freight ,while promoting new maritime access to serve the landlocked countries of the Southern Africa Development Community (SADC)”.

The ADB provided a ZAR2,982m loan representing over 70% of the project funding.

Project scope

The works included the dredging over 3.9m cubic metres of sand, used partly for the reclamation, construction of a 600m quay wall, the installation of four ship-to-shore (STS) cranes, the construction of a one-kilometre road, and the laying of 2.3km of rail lines. The facility’s electricity supply was also successfully upgraded, the report noted.

"Overall, the project has fully achieved its goals," the report said, increasing the terminal's capacity from 355,000 TEUs to 750,000 TEUs yearly. It has also reduced vessel waiting time to less than 8 hours and cut container transit time from 14.5 days to 9.5 days.

The demand for services from the Port of Walvis Bay has increased by about 8% following the commissioning of the new terminal, the report notes.