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 15 Mar 2018

Port of Walvis Bay, the biggest commercial port in Namibia, is operated by Namibian Port Authority (Namport). The port offers direct access to main shipping routes serving international trade.

Namport is constructing a new container terminal on reclaimed land to increase the handling capacity of the Port of Walvis Bay.

Ground-breaking ceremony of the new container terminal was held in May 2014. Construction started in mid-2014 and is scheduled for completion in 2019.

Background of the new container terminal project

Walvis Bay port handles approximately 3,000 vessels and five million tonnes of cargo a year. It manages container imports, exports, transhipments, and transportation of bulk and break-bulk cargos of various commodities.

The port, which has already reached its maximum handling capacity, is also witnessing steady growth in freight traffic, which has resulted in the proposal to develop the new container terminal or South Port Development to meet freight demand in the near future.

The Port of Walvis Bay has also been identified as a regional hub in the SADC Regional Infrastructure Development Master Plan (RIDMP). Namport has, therefore, initiated the expansion to establish Walvis Bay as the logistics hub of choice for the SADC, while reducing dependency on the eastern ports in South Africa, Mozambique, and Tanzania.

Details of the new container terminal

Being built on 40ha of newly reclaimed land, the terminal will increase container handling capacity as well as bulk and break-bulk handling capacities of the port. The existing container terminal will be transformed into a multi-purpose terminal.

“Namport placed an engineering, procurement, and construction contract with China Harbour Engineering Company for the new container terminal project in November 2013.”

The reclaimed land is made up of the sand that was obtained from dredging or deepening the port. It will house a modern container terminal, which will include quay walls, paved areas, buildings, roads, railway lines, ship-to-shore quay cranes, rubber-tired gantry, and cranes. It will increase the capacity from 350,000 TEU to 750,000 TEU a year.

The project will add a new 600m quay wall to the existing 1,800m to minimise disruptions during operations.

The new terminal will have two new berths, designated 10 and 11. The two 600m-long berths will be able to accommodate container vessels of 8,000 TEU.

Construction

A 10,000m³ trailing suction hopper dredger named Jun Hai II provided assistance for the dredging works of the project.

The dredging and land reclamation works were 97% and 95% complete as of February 2018. The construction of the retaining wall and storm barrier was 95% complete, while approximately 76% of the new terminal was also complete.

Four new ship-to-shore cranes have been installed at the terminal to load and offload containers from vessels. The cranes will offer higher lifting capacity than the existing ship-to-shore (STS) cranes at the port.

Financing

The African Development Bank will co-finance the NAD4bn ($344.84m) project along with Namport. It will fund 87.6% of the total project cost, while Namport will contribute 12.4% of the investment.

The African Development Bank granted NAD3bn ($253m) towards the project financing in November 2013.

Contractors involved with the new container terminal at Walvis Bay port

Namport placed an engineering, procurement, and construction (EPC) contract with China Harbour Engineering Company for the new container terminal project in November 2013.

The four ship-to-shore (STS) cranes for the terminal were provided by Zhenhua Port Machinery Company.

CCCC Guangzhou Dredging provided the trailing suction hopper dredger to conduct dredging works at the port.