THE WALVIS BAY CORRIDOR GROUP CELEBRATES TEN YEARS

The Walvis Bay Corridor Group has achieved a significant milestone by marking the 10th anniversary of its establishment. This milestone was officially celebrated at an event held recently in Windhoek, with the Minister of Works and Transport, Honourable Erkki Nghimtina as the guest of honour and was also attended by special honourary guests who included High Commissioners, its members, partners and donor agencies.

The Chief Executive Officer of the Walvis Bay Corridor Group, Johny Smith reflected on the past ten years by saying, “it has become more evident how the Walvis Bay Corridor Group has facilitated trade along the Walvis Bay Corridors and what a creative and constructive role it has played in the national endeavour of building a dynamic sector in the Namibian economy and beyond.” He further added, “that the WBCG has developed tremendously, not only in terms of the volumes it generates, but also with regards to service excellence. Reducing transit time, removing bottlenecks and improving corridor logistics through the Public Private Partnership remains the cornerstone of the Walvis Bay Corridors’ strategy which ensures that consumers in the SADC region receive a great product everytime.”

“The Group’s objectives were expanded to include critical roles for the development of the economy through transport. This led to a defined relationship between the Ministry of Works and Transport as one of the partners and the Walvis Bay Corridor Group in pursuing our respective mandates in support of infrastructural developments for the benefit of the Namibia and countries through which these Walvis Bay Corridors traverse”, said the Minister of Works and Transport, Honourable Erkki Nghimtina.

The Walvis Bay Corridor Group was established with the realization that landlocked countries required alternatives to gain access to ports for their imports and exports to and from international markets. Since then the Group have taken corridor development to greater heights. In their role as a facilitator for increasing imports and exports along the Walvis Bay Corridors they have to continuously identify opportunities, plan, coordinate, market, advocate for infrastructure development, and trade facilitation.

This has clearly become evident in that volumes along the Walvis Bay Corridors have grown the past ten years from zero up to more than 500 000 tonnes per annum along these corridors. Direct revenue for ports, rail and the road transport sector has increased from zero to more than N$230 million per annum for the transport sector.

---