Chinese projects firing up Namibia's logistics hub ambition

At a construction site at the rainless port of Walvis Bay, a rare downpour on Friday grounded all the cranes and bulldozers, but inside the buildings, the action moved on undisturbed as workers busily paved floors and furnished the interiors.

The hustle and bustle is said to be the norm of the construction area of the Namibian port, which is counting down to having a new container terminal and an oil jetty, both being built by a Chinese company.

"Here, work is busy every day, as we make efforts to complete the project in time," said Huang Meng, a chief inspector of China Harbor Engineering Company (CHEC) that is undertaking the expansion of the Atlantic port.

Expected to be completed by the end of this year, the port project, like many other infrastructure developments ongoing in Namibia, lies at the heart of the country's ambition to become a logistic hub in the southern African region.

The expansion will see throughput capacity of the port's container terminals will more than double to 750,000 twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs) per year. It will also add the first government-controlled oil storage facility in Namibia and a cruise jetty to boost tourism of the scenic African country.

"The type of work we've done here is the first of its kind in Namibia," said Bisey Uirab, CEO of the Namibian Ports Authority, referring to the 40 hectares of lands reclaimed from the sea and the four 79-meter-high ship-to-shore container cranes newly deployed to the port.

Uirab said upgrading the key port is significant to the entire Southern African Development Community (SADC) region, as it will boost import and export of mineral-rich landlocked nations like Zimbabwe and Botswana that are using the port as access, and in the meantime increase Namibia's appeal to global investors.

Moreover, the port construction will spur upgrading of nearby roads and railways, fueling the country's infrastructure boom that the government hopes will create employment and offset the current economic woes caused by low commodity prices.

The momentum is palpable at the port's construction site. "Many people are expecting this new port to be commissioned. It's important to Namibia and we're proud to be part of it," said Liborius Albertze, a Namibian safety inspector who has been promoted from a general worker since the project commenced in 2014.

"Many workers came from far-away places and competed hard to get into the project," said the 27 years old. "No one wants to be idle here."