Namibia’s Ports Blaze a Trail to Regional Growth

25 May Namibia’s Ports Blaze a Trail to Regional Growth

Andrew Kanime, CEO, Namibian Ports Authority, details how the country is consolidating its role as a logistics hub

To begin, can you please give us a brief introduction of the Namibian Port Authority (Namport), its main ports and its day-to-day operations? 

Namport is a Namibian, commercialized enterprise that is fully owned by the Government of the Republic of Namibia. It operates within the transport sector, and specifically the maritime subsector. Our mandate as a company is to oversee and manage the country’s ports and associated services and infrastructure, both on the land and on water. We manage two ports for Namibia, namely the port of Walvis Bay and the port of Lüderitz. The port of Walvis Bay is situated on the west coast of Africa and provides an easy and fast transit route between southern Africa, the Far East, Europe and the Americas; our second port, the port of Lüderitz, is situated on the south-western coast of Namibia, and is an important base not only for the fishing industry, but also for the onshore and offshore mining industries of southern Namibia. It also provides access to markets in the northern Cape of South Africa. Both are linked to Namibia’s road and rail network, making them well-situated to serve the landlocked countries in southern Africa. We handle all forms of cargo, from containerized and non-containerized to liquid and dry bulk, as well as various project cargos. Our operations cater for the import and export requirements of the country, as well as those of our neighboring countries that are landlocked. We also handle the transshipment business and are served by most of the top shipping lines in the world, which have direct connections to the main markets, as I said, in the Far East, Europe and America. Our ports provide port facilities and services, and have capacity for the drydocking of ships, the storing, warehousing, sorting, weighing, loading, offloading and handling of goods, and the embarking or disembarking of passengers. We also provide tank and piloting services. That is a brief outline of the Namibian Port Authority as an entity.

You have been CEO since November 2020, taking on a leadership role during a challenging time, with Covid-19 affecting businesses and governments worldwide. How did the global pandemic affect operations at Namport, and how did you navigate this unprecedented paradigm over the past several months? 

I must begin by saying that the effect of the pandemic has been unparalleled. No single country, nor entity, could have anticipated the devastating impact of the pandemic, and Namport is no exception. When industries, mines and farms are not producing, that has a direct impact on Namport, as it means we cannot move machines, raw materials, chemicals, mineral ores or other related commodities through our ports, to or from these sectors. 

The most significant impact of the pandemic was the restriction on the movement of people and the associated limitations on the continuity of trade, as authorities in various jurisdictions strove to curb the spread of the pandemic. Industries across the whole spectrum—from mining and agriculture to retail, tourism and manufacturing—all but came to a standstill as a result of the of the pandemic. Namport is obviously in the business of facilitating trade through the movement of cargo and people, and with restrictions on movement our business was severely impacted. In fact, human movement in businesses like cruise lines came to a complete halt as the industry essentially stopped operations. In terms of other cargo, while the closure of industries had a serious impact on our operations, we were quite privileged in Namibia to be classified as an essential services industry, which actually allowed us to keep our ports open and operational, although I must underline that we continued to operate under very strict protocols and limited movement of cargo. We activated our ‘crisis plan’, which enabled us to strike a balance between continuing to provide a lifeline in the movement of essential goods while restricting the risk of infections and loss of lives amongst our personnel—and, of course, our clients. 

We’ve also had the privilege of handling an increased number of shipments for other ports, because we’ve remained operational while they had to close. Our contingency plans enabled us to collectively turn around vessels faster, especially those vessels carrying high-value and sensitive cargos. Overall, really, the selflessness of our personnel and the support of authorities were remarkable as we tried to navigate through these unprecedented storms. The fact that we remain operational and were classified as an essential services industry enabled us to keep our business going, albeit with a skeleton staff. As a result of that, the impact on our business and on our performance has not been as bad as we originally anticipated. Obviously, if it were not for the pandemic, we’d probably be in a much better place than we are currently, but this is where we are at the moment.

At Namibia’s largest commercial port, Walvis Bay, a new container terminal was built and became fully operational in September 2020. What does this new container terminal mean for container capacity and waiting times at Walvis Bay? Are there any plans for further optimization and/or expansion of the terminal?

I must indicate that the development of this new container terminal at the Port of Walvis Bay is one of our flagship developments, especially in the history of the port. It is one of the largest single investments we have undertaken. The development was consistent with the drive for Namibia to position itself as the logistics hub for the West African region. It’s the result of the culmination of studies and engagements concluding that the capacity of our old container terminal was nearing full utilization, and would be insufficient to adequately cater for the increasing and future import and export requirements of both Namibia and the region at large. 

The terminal was constructed through an Engineering, Procuring and Contract basis, and it cost about 4.2 billion Namibian dollars. It was commissioned in August 2019 and as a result we now deploy state-of-the-art Post Panamax ship-to-shore (STS) cranes, and a wide array of smart technologies in cargo-handling operations at the Port of Walvis Bay. The new terminal also boasts a deep draft of more than 50 feet, placing us, as an authority, in a very strong position to be able to handle large vessels at the new quay—more specifically, 9000-twenty-foot-equivalent-units (TEU) container ships. In addition, importantly, it has enabled us to double our throughput capacity, from 350,000 TEUs to 750,000 TEUs. This gives us sufficient capacity to be able to cater for demand over the next 20 years or so. 

But when we constructed the terminal, we also ensured that provisions were made for future expansion should demand outgrow our current forecast. Moreover, we have deployed state-of-the-art STS cranes and appropriate technologies and process enhancements at the new terminal, which have all helped us to enhance our operational productivity and turnaround times. The immediate focus for the terminal is really to attain and stabilize the high productivity levels which are required by our clients, the shipping lines. 

There’s also a need for us to streamline our processes, to embrace technological advancements and to rationalize our operating costs, so that we can be in a position to provide efficient, affordable and competitive services. In the process, this will also enable us to grow our business volumes, from both within the country and the region. This would ensure that we remain sustainable, to continue to serve our esteemed customers and also to provide value to the Namibian nation and our shareholders. The terminal comprises a nearly 2000-foot-long quay and can accommodate a 9000-TEU vessel, as indicated. We believe that we now have sufficient capacity to enable us to cater for a medium- to long-term period. At the moment we don’t have expansion plans on the horizon. The focus is really to optimize what we have, but, of course, should demand significantly pick up, we will look at expansions. 

Headlines were made worldwide when the Suez Canal was blocked by the Ever Given for nearly a week earlier this year. Did you see an uptick in transshipment in Namibia as a result of ships re-routing around southern Africa, and how did you handle the resulting impact of this blockage? 

As it happens, the Suez Canal incident did not really affect our operations in any way. It did not affect the scheduled calls into our ports of Walvis Bay or Lüderitz. As a result, there has been no surge or changes in the flow of shipment business into our ports. However, had the blockage subsisted for a longer period of time, we anticipated that more vessels were going to be compelled to divert their voyages through the Cape of Good Hope and therefore transit through our ports—and of course we would have been able to cater for this, whether through the provision of bankers, cargo, crew changes or any other service that they might require. Unfortunately, it has had absolutely no direct impact on our ports. Be that as it may, we are glad that this near-global catastrophe could be expeditiously resolved—suffice to say, it has only magnified the importance of the shipping industry to global trade and in sustenance.

Namport supports the Namport Social Investment Fund (NSIF). How does the NSIF invest in and uplift various communities in the country? What initiatives are you most proud of?

It’s a public enterprise, a state-owned enterprise. We are continuously striving to ensure that there is alignment between what we do and national and global strategic imperatives—specifically, with respect to the United Nations’ sustainable development goals (UNSDGs)—whose aim is the provision of a clear, long-term agenda to end poverty, protect the planet and show prosperity by 2030. This is directly manifested through the company’s social investment arm, the NSIF, whose investment initiatives are centered around four pillars, which are directly aligned with the UNSDGs. 

The pillars of focus, as far as our social investment funds are concerned, are as follows: first, entrepreneurial, small and medium enterprise (SME) development, the objective of which is to support skills in enterprise development in Namibia, targeting specifically our SMEs; second, striving to ensure good health and wellbeing for all our citizens, with a focus on supporting primary healthcare projects, as well as improving health surveillance along Namibia’s key transport corridors; third, environmental stewardship, enabling us as a company to continuously invest in initiatives that are aimed at protecting, caring for and ensuring preservation and organization of our environment; fourth, ensuring quality education, allowing us to invest funds back into the community in all aspects of education, with a specific focus on the sciences and mathematics. 

Since its inception in 2006, the NSIF has invested over 35 million Namibian dollars in social upliftment projects in all the 14 regions of Namibia. In the financial year ending 31st of March 2021, we actually invested 2.8 million in social upliftment projects and, again, as I indicated earlier, our investments are directly aligned to UNSDGs. For example, one of the SDGs is to ensure zero hunger. As part of our fund, we have invested in feeding schemes and providing resources to soup kitchens that cater to vulnerable members of society. When it comes to health, the fund strives to provide support to interventions that seek to ensure the good health and wellbeing of all Namibians. This includes encouraging healthy behavior and supporting primary healthcare projects. One of the projects that I might highlight here is the fact that the fund entered into strategic partnerships with other players in Namibia, among them Wilderness Safaris, to establish a mobile clinic which caters for an isolated population of about 700 people. The clinic is situated around 430 miles away from the closest town, and the community members had to undertake a two-day trek to collect medication, but with this investment they no longer have to travel, because we brought the facilities closer to the community. As part of this partnership, we provided resources for the refurbishment of two 40-foot containers, which will serve as a clinic. The clinic includes ablution facilities, a sick bay and consulting rooms for medical personnel. The second refurbished container will be used as living quarters for the medical personnel who will be permanently stationed at the mobile clinic. This is just an example of the investments that we have made within the health sector. In education, our focus is targeted towards development of school infrastructure and also providing ablution facilities to schools—especially those that are in the rural areas—in order to maintain the minimum standards that are critical to providing quality education for Namibian children across all the various regions. On an annual basis, as a company, we continue to allocate resources to the fund and, as I indicated earlier, the resources are then managed by a Board of Trustees, who take on the responsibility of ensuring that those four pillars that we have identified are fully catered for.

How can the development of (and investment in) Namibia’s ports support the country’s economy overall? What subsections of the economy—whether fishing, offshore oil exploration, or other industries—stand to benefit most from a well-run port infrastructure in Namibia? 

Namport is the conduit of the country to main sources of raw materials and global markets; we facilitate trade through the provision of efficient and cost-effective facilities and services for the movement of cargo. Therefore, investments in Namport and also investments in well-run ports in Namibia can help us in various ways: firstly, to increase the reach in the market for Namibia’s products on a global scale; secondly, to help expedite the movement of commodities to and from the main markets, hence streamlining the logistics change; and thirdly, to help us to enhance the competitiveness of Namibia’s products on the international markets through, among other things, attractive pricing and shortened time. All sectors of the Namibian economy would invariably benefit from well-run ports. It will also help facilitate cross-border trade with neighboring countries who do not have direct access to the sea. It’s critical for us as a company to ensure that we provide adequate port facilities and services to enable economic growth, both for Namibia and, obviously, for our landlocked neighbors.

More broadly speaking, the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) secretary general recently lauded Namibia’s infrastructure, and specifically referred to Namport. How does Namport facilitate trade in the region, particularly for those landlocked neighbors?

Namport contributes to the competitiveness of the Southern African Development Community (SADC), which comprises most of the landlocked countries in southern Africa. We facilitate competitiveness of regional trade through the provision of efficient, reliable and cost-effective port services. Namport is actually a founding member of the Walvis Bay Corridor Group, a not-for-profit organization which is a corridor management institution specifically established to manage and market Namibia’s corridors linking our ports to the rest of SADC. Our corridors can accommodate all modes of transport along well-maintained systems of rail network and bitumen roads. The corridors also provide high safety and security standards, enabling us to provide peace of mind to importers and exporters that make use of our corridors. At the moment, a quarter of all cargo handled at our ports is destined for SADC, a confirmation that our gateway ports are playing a critical role in facilitating cross-border trade. The core benefits to our customers for using our corridors are that they are time-saving, with high safety and security standards. We are therefore appropriately and strategically located, have adequate infrastructure at the port, and have adequate road and rail networks to enable and facilitate the movement of cargo from global markets into the rest of the region.

One of the goals of Namport is to become a logistics hub for the SADC. What is your strategic vision moving forward? What remains to be done and what are your biggest goals in the medium term? 

As an organization, our vision is to be the best performing sea port in Africa. Our ports are a critical link in the logistics supply chain, and are also critical to the successful implementation of the logistics hub plan. Our aspiration as a company is to position our ports as logistic hub ports for the rest of SADC. It is therefore our view that enhancing the competitiveness of our ports across all fronts will put us in a much better position to achieve that. Specifically, our focus is really on ensuring the following: number one, as far as our ports are concerned, it is our intention to provide adequate port land, to be able to cater for both local and hinterland demand. We do have sufficient land and plans in place to extend existing ports, and also to develop new ports should demand dictate that necessity. 

In this regard, as far as port land is concerned, Namport has also allocated dry port land to four of our hinterland cargo volume partners to facilitate trade for their respective countries; we have allocated dry port land in the port of Waldis Bay to Zambia, Zimbabwe and Botswana, and are in advanced stages of the process of allocating land to the Democratic Republic of the Congo. We believe that the provision of dedicated dry port land in the harbor is definitely part of Namport’s mandate to facilitate trade in the region and also to give our landlocked neighbors access to the sea. Port infrastructure is another critical component that would put us in a better position to serve as the logistics hub for SADC. 

Again, as far as Namport is concerned, we have in place appropriate port infrastructure and capacity to handle the different types of cargo, ranging from containerized cargo to breakbulk cargo and liquid bulk cargo. We also have ship and rig repair facilities and capacities within the Port of Waldis Bay. A critical component for us to position Namibia as a logistics hub is ensuring that we have adequate and reliable cargo handling capacity, as cargo handling equipment is critical to greater efficiency and productivity levels. As such, we do have appropriate cargo handling equipment and we continue to invest in the purchase of new equipment in order to ensure that, at all times, we have the required capacity to handle the cargo that is moving through our ports. Also critical is the enhancement of productivity and efficiency levels. This is especially critical to attracting shipping lines, and therefore, as a port, we are aggressively driving for port automation, business processes and re-engineering—this is to further amplify current levels of productivity. Those are some of the components that are within our direct control as a port, to ensure that we continuously position Namibia as a logistics hub for SADC. 

Additionally, the fulfilment of the regional logistics hub initiative also requires seamless end-to-end connectivity across the whole chain, and hinges on other considerations, which are also pertinent to the ultimate realization of the logistics hub goal. The hinterland road and rail networks are critical to ensuring that our ports are directly connected to the hinterland. Good quality road and rail networks provide alternative transport corridors and can also help us reduce transportation times in comparison with other corridors in other countries where there are competing ports. You might not be aware that Namibia has recently been ranked as the first place to have good-quality road infrastructure in the whole of Africa. We are very pleased that it is this road infrastructure that enables us to connect to the rest of the SADC. We also have a rail network that connects directly to South Africa, for example, as well as to Angola, but plans are also under way to ensure that we have rail connectivity into Botswana and also into Zambia and the Democratic Republic of Congo. 

So to answer your question of what remains to be done in terms of positioning Namibia as a logistics hub, rail connectivity is one area where investments still have to be made in order for it to be completed. Another area in which we need to improve is our border and customs processes and turnaround times, because they serve as a critical component of the efficacy of the logistics chain. While we’ve taken pride in comparatively fast processing times at our borders, additional resources must be committed to enhancing the operational efficiencies there. As a country, we are also in the process of operationalizing what we call the “National Single Window”, which is really an electronic platform that seeks to provide a one-stop shop for all our importers and exporters—for example, taking away the need to run to multiple offices in order to complete the loop when it comes to imports and exports. In summary, as far as poor infrastructure is concerned, including port, land and cargo handling equipment, we are adequately positioned to serve as the logistics hub for the rest of SADC; in terms of the rail and road network, we are already moving cargo by road and rail into the rest of SADC, but more investments are required to input the rail network, which would then enable us to become very competitive, and actualize our dream of becoming the original logistics hub for SADC.

To end this interview, would you like to send a final message to the readers of Newsweek all over the world regarding why they should choose Africa as a place to do business and invest—and specifically, of course, Namibia. Why Namibia? Why Namport?

As far as a Namport is concerned, throughout this interview I have continued to emphasize that we have the necessary capacity to provide a multitude of services in the most efficient and cost-effective manner. We are therefore sufficiently and adequately positioned to serve as a strategic partner to some of you who might want to move some of your cargo into the rest of Africa, and not just the SADC. While we are strategically positioned to facilitate movement of cargo and to facilitate trade into the rest of Southern Africa, we are also strategically positioned and have adequate capacity to serve as a shipment hub for the rest of West Africa. 

I would like to invite your readers to try out our ports, so that they can experience an unparalleled service in the facilitation of movement of cargo and trade. Africa has multiple investment opportunities to offer, with a growing population and a growing consumer base. Therefore, if anything, Africa is actually the continent which must be a serious consideration for investors who are seeking to increase a return on their investments, because of the unlimited customer base that we have across a number of industries. As indicated, Namport and Namibia specifically stand ready to serve as that conduit, that gateway through which the rest of the world can move their products and services and goods into the rest of Africa, but also to move mineral resources, or other products from Africa into the rest of the global markets. Africa is ready and Namport is ready.