The continuing internationalisation and containerisation of trade have increased the pressure on port authorities to optimise traffic and increase productivity.Now, more than ever before, port authorities need to maximise the value delivered to port users, says Andre Kanime, CEO of Namport.“There is a definite need to enhance services, rationalise operational costs, and streamline processes across the whole logistics chain to enhance turnaround times and improve port competitiveness,” he told Freight News, emphasising that Namport had set itself the target of becoming the best-performing seaport in Africa within the next five years.He said increases in volumes handled were evident year-on-year through the ports, albeit marginal at times. “Total TEUs have increased by 2%, while bulk and breakbulk volumes have increased by 10%.”Namport had a clear vision for the way forward and a strategy was in place to drive the process, he added.“As a business, it is critical that we operate efficiently, generate adequate returns to sustain our operations, earn a return to our shareholders, and ensure consistent, high-quality and reliable service delivery to our customers.“To this end, we have embarked on an across-the-board review of our operations to determine any areas where there are wastages and inefficiencies so that these can be addressed. We aim to generate the best returns with the maximum efficiency in the utilisation of resources.”Kanime said as part of its roadmap towards sustainability, Namport was actively pursuing public-private partnerships PPPs in the rollout of critical infrastructure and facilities within its ports.“This will provide external capital for the upgrade and expansion of, amongst others, warehouses and other cargo handling facilities in our ports whilst simultaneously allowing Namport to focus on other much-needed investments in equipment, systems and other common-user core infrastructure.”He said the most notable PPP initiatives being considered or in the process of implementation were the development of the common-user manganese export terminal at the Port of Luderitz, the development of the common-user bulk terminal at the Port of Walvis Bay, the possible concessioning of the Walvis Bay New Container Terminal, the construction and operation of the LPG and LNG terminals at North Port in Walvis Bay, and green hydrogen production and export from both North Port and the Port of Luderitz.Kanime said the past few years had been extremely challenging for port authorities, considering the impact of the global Covid pandemic on the shipping industry at large.“We were all positive that 2021 would see the pandemic subsiding, but instead the infections continued to spiral throughout the year, with more lockdowns imposed to curtail the spread of the virus.”And it’s a situation that has continued into 2022. “With the only meaningful mitigation from the pandemic being vaccination against the virus, Africa and Namibia’s positions remain precarious on the back of the very low uptake of the vaccine. At present a worrisomely low 11.6% of Namibia’s population is fully vaccinated against Covid-19 in comparison to the global average of 42.7%. This, unfortunately, means we are not out of the woods and should new variants strike again, we may find ourselves back to square one.”Kanime said as the pandemic continued to rage around the world, the number of blank sailings had increased, and a shortage of containers prevailed – especially twenty footers used by Namibia to export its mineral ores. “We have also seen, as dictated by the laws of supply and demand, a steep increase in freight rates.
