The African Development Bank earlier this month signed a N$2.9 billion (US $338 million) sovereign guaranteed loan to Namibia Ports Authority (Namport) to finance the construction of a container terminal at Walvis Bay New Port. Despite the Ministry of Finance's stated reluctance to provide sovereign guarantees, the approval of this loan could not go ahead without a government guarantee.
In line with its Ten Year Strategy and focus on infrastructure development and regional integration, the African Development Bank approved the construction of the Port of Walvis Bay New Container Terminal Project in July 2013.
The bank further provided another US$2.3 million to the government for logistics and capacity building
The loan agreement was signed between finance minister, Hon. Sara Kuugongelwa-Amadhila, Namport CEO, Bisey Uirab, and AfDB Regional Director, Ebrima Faal.
Expanding the port on the southern side and constructing a new larger container terminal are important components of a national strategy to position Namibian as a regional logistics hub serving Gauteng Province in South Africa, as well as Botswana, Zimbabwe, Zambia, the DRC and Angola.
Bank representative, Ebrima Faal emphasized the developmental impact of the project: "This project is important for Namibia and for the Southern African Development Community (SADC). It is critical to fulfilling Namibia's aspirations to become a world-class logistics hub in the SADC region," he said.
According to Faal, the project will enhance international and inter-regional trade and regional integration and Namibia will be able to fully exploit its unique geographical location to facilitate trade to and from the region.
The project is expected to enable Namport to triple the container capacity at the harbour from 350,000 TEUs to 1,050,000 TEUs per annum.
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