Zimbabwe Dry Port in Namibia a game changer Minister Felix Mhona

Business Reporter
THE Zimbabwe Dry Port in Namibia is a game changer as it provides a strategic and cheaper gateway to the Atlantic Ocean for local manufacturers and international businesses.

Managed by the National Handling Services Pvt LTD under the Ministry of Transport and Infrastructural Development — Zimbabwe Dry port, based in Walvis Bay Namibia — NAMPORT, was inaugurated by President Emmerson Mnangagwa on July 26, 2019.

The Zimbabwe Dry Port presents a canvas of opportunities for Zimbabwe exporters and importers and the Sadc region at large.

The Dry Port has the potential to move the needle on international trade facilitation for Zimbabwe in-line with Vision 2030. Zimbabwe is a landlocked country, but is now sea linked through the Zimbabwe Dry Port facility.

The Zimbabwe Dry Port participated at the Zimbabwe International Trade Fair for the first time this year, showcasing a basket of products and services offered at the facility.

The services and products offered include: containers and break-bulk handling, vehicle storage, bounded warehousing and storage, freight forwarding, packing/unpacking containers, stuffing and de-stuffing of containers, container repair and other value-added services.

The Minister of Transport and Infrastructural Development, Felix Mhona, visited the Zimbabwe Dry Port Stand and was impressed with the strategic initiatives and stakeholder capitalism the Dry Port has embarked on.

The Zimbabwe Dry Port is intending to have a One-Stop Shop for shippers and freight forwarders, Government agencies and key stakeholders.

This strategic initiative will improve efficiency in the processing of cargo and goods at the Dry Port.
The Ministry of Transport and Infrastructural Development and National Handling Services Pvt Ltd are currently lobbying customs and port health departments to deploy staff at the Dry Port for ease of doing business.

This has a potential to change the whole supply chain and marketing channels that support the Dry Port.

A Dry Port (sometimes referred to as an inland port) is an inland inter-modal terminal directly connected by road or rail to a seaport, operating as a centre for the transshipment of sea cargo to inland destinations.

The Zimbabwe Dry Port facility is sitting on a 18 300-square-metre yard and the whole yard is bonded which makes it very competitive.

In collaboration with the Walvis Bay Corridor Group, the Dry Port Management has embarked on aggressive marketing in the source and consumer markets in order to propel growth.

The Walvis Bay Corridor serves as an alternative to link Zimbabwe to Europe, North America as well as South America and through Walvis Bay, local importers and exporters can save more than 10 days in transit time to markets in Europe and the Americas. The Walvis Bay Port has been voted at the most efficient Port in Southern Africa in 2020.

Zimbabwean imports and exports have an option either to use the Trans-Kalahari Corridor or Trans-Caprivi Corridor as the trade corridor linkage from Europe and the Americas.

The Trans-Kalahari route is also a much faster route for road transportation, as it saves about five to seven days in transit for Botswana imports and exports compared to some of other ports in the region for cargo from European and American markets.

According to Minister Mhona, the Walvis Bay Port is of particular significance to Zimbabwe, especially in view of challenges that have affected the country’s other major trade routes.

He said it further broadens the prospects of Zimbabweans companies to increase trade within the context of African (Continental) Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), by promoting inter-African trade.

The advantage of this is that transportation ships can carry a large amount of cargo, especially bulky cargo and less maintenance costs as far as road and rail.

Before Zimbabwe was given access to the port of Walvis Bay, the country used to rely heavily on the Beira port in Mozambique as well as the Durban port in South Africa which are now heavily congested and delays the movement of cargo and goods.

The development is in sync with the aspirations of the Sadc Protocol on Transport, Communication and Meteorology of 1996, which ideally seeks to remove trade barriers in the region through trade facilitation.

Zimbabwe’s Dry Port Facility at Walvis Bay in Namibia was operationalised in 2019 and today large volumes of cargo and goods are handled at the port. The facility is expected to boost trade and bilateral relations between Zimbabwe and Namibia and management is now in overdrive to engage key stakeholders and aggressively market the port.

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