Bremenports assessing readiness of the Walvis Bay gateway

A study by Bremenports to assess the Port of Walvis Bay and its hinterland connection is nearing completion. The primary objective of the exercise is to assess Namport’s operational readiness in view of the new container terminal that will be commissioned later this year.

Commissioned under the Sustainable Mobility and Logistics in Namibia programme, a subsection of the logistics support offered by the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ), the study began in August 2018 and is due for completion in May 2019.

To ready itself for the significant new facility that will soon be in operation, Namport has already commenced on a restructuring and reorganising process. The assessment will further provide guidance in terms of how their operation, equipment, training and organisational structure needs to be aligned in order to efficiently cater to the new container terminal.

By virtue of WBCG’s mandate to implement the Logistics Hub Master Plan, the Walvis Bay Corridor Group’s role in the assessment was as the focal contact point between Bremenports, Namport and the industry.

Bremenports expert, Dr Lars Stemmler recently presented a preliminary report to Namport and the project partners. “The team are enthusiastic about the prelim results and welcome the final results of the assessment, as it will play a crucial role in the port’s change management programme”, said WBCG’s SDI Manager, Mr Gilbert Boois.

Bremenports GmbH & Co. KG is a German port management company that has managed the port infrastructure in Bremen and Bremerhaven on behalf of the Free Hanseatic City of Bremen since January 2002. The experts at Bremenports are responsible for the operation, maintenance and repair of the complex maritime infrastructure. They increasingly market their technical, nautical and ecological expertise to customers in Germany and abroad – all of which makes this port management company a highly interesting partner for projects the world over.

Bremerhaven is the world’s busiest port transporting cars and in 2011, the Port of Bremen transported more than 60 million tons of goods, including 6 million containers and 2.1 million cars. In 2017, Bremenports was a member of the development company for the port construction project in Iceland.