Africa-Press – Namibia. THE Namibian Ports Authority (Namport), last week saw 8 500 tonnes of copper being ship-loaded for the port of Panama in the United States.
Namport executive for commercial services Elias Mwenyo called it a “significant milestone”, as this consignment was the second consignment of copper exported via the port of Walvis Bay in a breakbulk format as an alternative to containerised export.
The copper cathodes from Mopani Copper Mine in Zambia were transported to Walvis Bay by road where they were loaded onto the Unisea vessel. “Due to the ongoing global shortage in containers, it has become a phenomenon for shippers to opt for their consignments to be carried by bulk vessels to ensure continuity of operations and less dependency on containers,” said Mwenyo.
“With Namibia’s ports strategically located along the west coast of Africa and supplemented by the country’s excellent road infrastructure, which is rated number one in Africa, the country continues to play a leading role in the facilitation of trade via our transport corridors serving hinterland markets within SADC.”
Namibia has four transport corridors that connects it to other Southern African Development Community (SADC) countries namely: the Trans-Kunene Corridor connecting Namibia to Angola, the Walvis Bay-Ndola-Lubumbashi Development Corridor connecting to Zambia and southern Democratic Republic of Congo, the Trans-Kalahari Corridor connecting Namibia to Botswana and the Trans-Oranje Corridor connecting Namibia to South Africa.
Besides its strategic location, Namport has enhanced its competitiveness by investing in state-of-the-art infrastructure and equipment to provide a “superior” customer service experience to everyone using its facilities at both its ports at Walvis Bay and Lüderitz
