TKC looks into rail capacity upgrade

Continued efforts to sensitise and
educate people about the benefits of
using the Walvis Bay Corridor for
exporting and importing are paying off,
says Johny Smith, CEO of the Walvis Bay
Corridor Group (WBCG).
Tasked with creating awareness around
the corridor, the WBCG is a public private
partnership initiative.
“One of our main challenges has
been to change the outlook of potential
importers and exporters to utilise the
Walvis Bay Corridors through the Port
of Walvis Bay,” says Smith. “We have
hosted various information sessions and
attended trade fairs in Angola, Botswana,
Gauteng and Zambia including the
international markets, emphasising what
the Walvis Bay Corridors can offer to
potential importers and exporters.”
And already there has been immense
improvement. “Through sensitising
people about the advantages the corridor
has to offer such as shorter transit times,
good safety and security as well as the
increased capacity of the Walvis Bay port
we are seeing more interest and activity
along the corridor.”
Using one of the three corridors,
which include the TransKalahari
Corridor, the Walvis Bay – Ndola –
Lubumbashi Development Corridor and
the TransCunene Corridor, makes sense,
says Smith, especially when it comes to
savings in transit time, which translate
into savings on the whole supply chain.
“Currently, fast turnaround times
that the Port of Walvis Bay has been
achieving and the reduction in time spent
at the borders contribute to efficient
operations. Clearance time at the border
points along the TKC is about 30
minutes,” he says.
Much is also happening when it comes to
improving operations, with ongoing effort
and talks to improve transit times.
“In terms of developments along
the TransKalahari Corridor (TKC) a
pre-feasibility study is in progress,
commissioned by the Botswana and
Namibia governments, looking at
increasing the rail capability,” says Smith.
“The railway lines along the TransCunene
Corridor extend from the Port of Walvis
Bay to Ondangwa and the construction of
the line from Ondangwa to Oshikango is
in progress. “
According to Smith all role-players are
on board to ensure the efficient movement
of cargo, with the Namibian government
having signed the necessary documents to
create one stop border posts.
“One of the major projects to increase
capacity is the port expansion project
which will commence during and increase
port capacity to an additional 600,000
TEUs per annum,” he says.