Feasibility study underway
LEONARD NEILL
A THIRD seaport for Namibia could become a reality based on the findings of a feasibility study currently underway.
The study, costing R1,3million, is expected to be completed by the end of this year. Cape Fria, the country’s northern coast, is the projected site of what will become the third harbour under the control of Namibian Ports Authority (Namport) which administers activities in Walvis Bay and Luderitz.
“Our harbours are regarded as the western gateway to southern Africa,” Works, Transport and Communications Minister Moses Amweelo told FTW in an exclusive interview during Walvis Bay’s 10th anniversary celebrations in March.
“We expect that volumes moving through the existing two ports will increase dramatically during the next two decades, which bodes well for the building of a third port.
“Such a harbour is intended not only to serve the fishing industry, but the import and export of general cargo, ore and minerals to and from other SADC countries. We need only look at developments in road and rail transport routes linking Namibia with Zambia and southern Angola to realise that there is great potential
for a new harbour to be built to the north of Walvis Bay.
“This is our major port and it will come under growing pressure as the areas it already serves expand their dependency on the TransKalahari Highway. The proposed harbour’s connectivity to the more northerly region’s main transport network will therefore play a major role in the current study.”
Development partners have already shown an interest in financing the harbour project, said Amweelo. The requirements of the fishing industry, Namibia’s major export industry will also play a major role in the study.
