Walvis often preferred for southern Angola
ED RICHARDSON
MAERSK NAMIBIA is celebrating its 10th
anniversary in the country with accelerated
growth – and plenty of confidence in the
future.
“The rapid growth of the economies
of Western Africa, notably Angola, is often
underestimated,” says David Williams,
managing director Maersk Namibia. The
extent of the growth, including additional
volumes from the P&O Nedlloyd
acquisition, is evident in the number of
Maersk transhipments through Walvis Bay.
These have risen from 9 000 in 2005 to
40 000 TEUs in 2006.
Most are destined for the West Coast of
Africa.
Maersk Logistics is also handling
increasing volumes of cargo bound for
Angola, Zambia and the Democratic
Republic of Congo.
With the exception of the declining
fishing industry, the company is seeing
growth in most sectors.
A large percentage of the inbound
traffic is destined for the border between
Namibia and Angola north of Oshakati.
“One of the interesting changes with
regard to commercial imports over the past
couple of years is that the portion sold
to the Angolan retail market has all but
disappeared with the vast majority now
being sold to wholesalers,” he says. Visitors
to the area find a thriving economy, with a
Chinatown.
Congestion and delays in the port of
Luanda make Walvis Bay a preferred entry
point for a certain sector of the southern
Angolan market. “Angola is growing
extremely fast – it is often difficult to keep
up,” he says.
Clients importing from the Far East
have since April 2006 benefited from a
direct service from Hong Kong and Tanjung
Pelepas to Walvis Bay.
The port is also served by direct Maersk
services from Europe and South America.
With a sailing time of just nine to 15
days from South America, manufacturers
and suppliers on that continent are
proving to be highly competitive in West
Africa. “The key is the efficient handling of
transhipments. They drive through benefits
for everybody,” he says.
Potential efficiencies in the port of
Walvis Bay could help make up for delays
in Luanda in particular, he adds.
Although there is significant volume
potential in the Gauteng area, the Trans
Kalahari Corridor (TKC) has failed to attract
significant volumes through Walvis Bay for
a number of reasons.
Williams says “a lot of lessons” have
been learnt from the Trans Kalahari
Corridor and these are being put to “good
use” on the Trans Caprivi Corridor which
provides an alternative to the ports of
Dar es Salaam and Durban for Zambian
and Democratic Republic of the Congo
exporters.
Massive transhipment growth underscores West Africa potential
10 Apr 2007 - by Staff reporter
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