Africa-Press – Angola. The Port of Namibe handled, in the first quarter of this year, 275 thousand tons of various products, which represented an increase of 12%, compared to the same period in 2023, highlighted this Saturday, the Minister of Transport, Ricardo de Abreu.
The government official, who spoke via video conference, at the closing ceremony of the 1st Forum on the “Value Chain of the Port of Namibe”, opened this Friday in Moçâmedes, stated that the rehabilitation of the pier, carried out recently, will have contributed to the good performance of the port company.
He also highlighted the implementation of the Baia de Moçâmedes Development Project, which includes the rehabilitation of the Saco Mar terminal and the container terminal, as a factor that will contribute to increasingly increasing the flow of goods at the port.
He said that the entry into action of these infrastructures will also enable the province to transform the potential of mining, agribusiness, tourism, among other sectors.
Due to this potential, the minister said that, within the scope of the national corridors strategy, it is intended to launch, in the second half of this year, the competition for the design of the Southern Corridor, with a view to increasing and improving the operational efficiency of the Port of Namibe.
With this project, he said, it is also expected to guarantee the extension of the Southern Corridor to the southern border limits, covering a part of Namibia and to the East towards Zambia.
Port of Namibe’s performance in the last four years
For his part, the chairman of the Board of Directors of the port company, Nazareth Neto, said that, in the last four years, the Port of Namibe handled more than four million tons of products, with emphasis on granite and ornamental rocks.
When presenting the performance of this institution, the manager said that this cargo movement was carried out on 800 ships, with more than 80 thousand containerized cargo traffics in that period.
In the financial sector, the PCA highlighted that the port recorded more than nine billion kwanzas in net profits, a result of its commitment to optimizing its financial performance, supported mainly by export activity and port services to vessels.
According to Nazareth Neto, over the last four years, the port company has shown an average increase of 22% in operating costs and 13% in terms of revenue from its operation.
He also mentioned that, in 2023, the port presented a net operating result of 2.7 billion kwanzas, revenues supported, mainly, by export activity.
He also recalled that the company has made continuous investment in its organic development, mainly through increasing the efficiency of the structure and the qualification of its human capital, with an increase in representation in terms of qualified personnel.
This investment, he continued, allowed the improvement of the operational performance of the Port of Namibe in the main operational indicators in terms of its cargo handling capacity.
As value chain challenges and investment opportunities in the mining sector, the PCA highlighted the improvement of railway routes for the transport of these products, as well as the increase in qualified labor and investment opportunities.
It presaged the creation of a key investment program in the coming years, with a direct impact on the different economic sectors that pass through the port.
Under the motto “Value chain of the Port of Namibe”, the 1st Forum, part of the celebration of the 70th anniversary of this infrastructure, celebrated last Friday (24), aimed to identify the economic strengths of the region, boost the portfolio business and understand the impact of the activity and development of the Namibe Corridor, exploring opportunities for growth and regional integration.
Participants at the meeting addressed topics such as “Value chain of the Port of Namibe”, “Port and logistics infrastructures”, “Hiterland investment opportunities” and “Financing mechanisms for private activity”.
The event, which ended this Saturday, brought together members of the government of the provinces of Namíbe, Huíla, Cunene and Cuando Cubango, as well as businesspeople, senior staff from the Ministry of Transport and the port company, among other individuals.
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