Port of Walvis Bay

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Port of Walvis Bay is Namibia's largest commercial port and handles container imports, exports, and transshipments, as well as bulk and break-bulk of various commodities.

Southern African Gateway Port (SADC Gateway Port) or North Port is a proposed port or expansion in Walvis Bay, Namibia. Phase five of the proposed Namport project, the Botswana Coal Terminal, would handle up to 100 million tonnes of coal per annum. It would be a storage facility for coal imported from Botswana for export. Construction of the coal terminal is highly dependent on the planned Trans-Kalahari Railway, which would link Botswana to Walvis Bay.

Location

The undated satellite photo below shows the Port of Walvis Bay.

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Port of Walvis Bay

The main types of bulk, break-bulk, and containerised cargo moving through the Port of Walvis Bay are fish and fish products, salt, sugar, coal, manganese, copper, zinc and lead ore and/or concentrates, uranium as yellow cake, fluorspar, marble and granite, sodium carbonate, sulphuric acid and various other chemicals and products in smaller volumes. Of these, salt is the main commodity exported and constituted 42% of the freight tonnes shipped from the port during 2017/2018. Approximately 5 million freight tonnes of cargo are handled in the Port of Walvis Bay per annum.

The port handled the following amount of coal between 2011 and 2019:

• 2011/2012 (12 months): 70,399 freight tonnes
• 2012/2013 (12 months): 79,060 freight tonnes
• 2013/2014 (12 months): 69,368 freight tonnes
• 2014/2015 (12 months): 107,966 freight tonnes
• 2015/2016 (7 months): 60,499 freight tonnes
• 2016/2017 (12 months): 116,398 freight tonnes
• 2017/2018 (12 months): 32,969 freight tonnes
• 2018/2019 (12 months): 32,848 freight tonnes

By 2019, according to Namport, the primary importers of coal in Namibia were no longer sourcing the commodity from South Africa, but from Botswana by road from the Morupule coal mine. This reduced volumes of coal imports handled at the port.

Project Details

• Operator: Namibia Ports Authority (Namport)
• Location: Walvis Bay, Namibia
• Proposed Coal Capacity (Million tonnes per annum): 5 for all cargo
• Status: Operating
• Type: Imports & possible exports
• Cost:
• Financing:

Proposed Southern African Gateway Port

In 2014, Namibia and Botswana signed an agreement at Bird Island near Walvis Bay for the construction of a 1,500 km railway line from Botswana to Namibia. The agreement included adding a coal terminal and associated loading facilities to the Namibia-Botswana corridor that could potentially be accessed by other landlocked Southern African Development Community (SADC) countries, such as Malawi, Zambia, and Zimbabwe. Coal exports were planned for India and China.

The first three phases would handle oil and natural gas. Construction on these phases was planned to begin in 2015. Phase five, the Botswana Coal Terminal, would handle up to 100 million tonnes of coal per annum. It would be a storage facility for coal imported from Botswana for export. Construction of the coal terminal is highly dependent on the planned Trans-Kalahari Railway, which would link Botswana to Walvis Bay.

Railway Route Map in Namibia by TransNamib. Source: Preparatory Survey on the Walvis Bay Port Container Terminal Development Project, Final Report (March 2010)

In 2015, Namibia's Ministry of Minerals Energy and Water Resources secretary Kgomotso Abi said of the project: "the total estimated cost at its minimal is US$20 billion, and it is not viable." Yet Abi also said Namibia should move forward with the project in case coal prices increase. A final assessment report on the rail line was expected in January 2016 and was being carried out by Australian-based consultants, Aurecon.

Aurecon estimated the capital expenditure costs at a total of US$14.2 billion, comprising US$8.6 billion for electrified rail, US$1.9 billion for above rail, and US$3.6 billion for the port. In a preliminary assessment, Aurecon found that if Botswana miners were not able to ramp up production from 65 to 95 million tonnes per annum to full production in seven years, then costs on the project would increase significantly.

An October 2019 Environmental Management Plan noted that at this stage, "the coal export project is not expected to realise in near future, if at all."

That year, construction of the first phase of the Port of Walvis Bay-North Port Development Program project was the only phase underway. It involved a Petroleum product Liquid Bulk Terminal and completion was expected that year. Phase two (LNG Gas Terminal) was on hold "until such time that the concessionaire can reach financial close." Other phases, including the Botswana Coal Terminal, were in "conceptual phase."

Project Details

• Operator: Namibia Ports Authority (Namport)
• Location: Walvis Bay, Namibia
• Proposed Coal Capacity (Million tonnes per annum): 100
• Status: Shelved
• Type: Exports (India and China)
• Coal Source: Botswana
• Cost: US$3.6 billion
• Financing:

Dry ports

In 2019, Zimbabwe completed construction of US$3.5 million Dry Port Facility at Walvis Bay. Construction of the facility began in 2014 and was spearheaded by RMS, a subsidiary of the National Railways of Zimbabwe (NRZ), in partnership with the Walvis Bay Corridor Group (WBCG) and the Namibian Port Authority. The African Development Bank funded the project. The new container terminal was set to double the Walvis Bay Port’s container handling capacity from 350,000 to more than 750,000 containers. It is unclear how the dry port is related to coal or coal handling plans.

In November 2019, TransNamib also inked a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Botswana Railways for a dry port container terminal at Gobabis to provide alternative means of transporting cargo from Walvis Bay port in Namibia to Botswana and other destinations within the SADC region. The cooperation is expected to facilitate in opening import and export opportunities, and to unlock value on the TransKalahari route, even though the two countries are not completely linked by rail yet. Gobabis is inland between Walvis Bay and Botswana, but much closer to the Botswana border.

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