Infrastructure
General features
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Total of 1 330 hectares of new port land compared to only
105 hectares of land at the current port;
10 000m of quay walls and jetties to yield about 30 large
berths (current port = 1 900m of quay wall);
World-class ship and rig repair yard plus oil and gas
supply base;
Huge dry bulk terminal (>100 million p.a.);
Car import terminal;
Passenger terminals;
Container terminal (if needed in future);
Liquid bulk terminal with VLCC berths;
Multipurpose and break-bulk terminals;
Backup storage areas / dry ports;
Small craft harbour with Port Control Tower;
Small boat marinas; and
New high-capacity rail, road, pipeline, and conveyor link to
municipal heavy industrial area behind Dune 7.
Project implementation strategy
Namport envisages that the new port will be developed and
operated by the private sector, through the award of concession
contracts, wherein the private sector designs, builds, owns, operates,
and transfers (DBOOT) the various port terminals. Thus, Namport
will be the landlord, whereas most terminal operations will be
outsourced to private operators. Namport will continue to provide
all specialised services, including marine services.
Project phasing
• Phase 1: Petroleum product liquid bulk terminal
Dredging of new 180m-wide, 16.5m-deep entrance channel
and turning basin, as well as the construction of 2 × 60 000dwt
tanker berths for the importation of fuel and related products
into Namibia and SADC at large. Completion expected in 2018.
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Phase 2: LNG gas terminal
Construction of a dedicated LNG gas import terminal,
which will supply gas to a new 250MW power station in
Walvis Bay to supply NamPower.
Phase 3: Multipurpose dry bulk terminal (important
for mining companies)
Construction of an offshore berth similar to the liquid
bulk berths for Phase 1, but this berth will be used
for the import and export of dry bulk cargo such
as iron ore, manganese, and coal, most of which are
Namibian mining products for export. The capacity of
the facility will be about 10 million tons of dry bulk
per annum. Construction started in 2017 and expected
commissioning is in 2020.
Phase 4: Ship and rig repair facility
Construction of a large dock/ship lift structure with
associated quay walls and dredging. The project will create
dry-docking facilities for very large vessels that are too large
to be accommodated on the current dry-docking facilities
in Walvis Bay.
Phase 5: Botswana coal terminal
Phase 5 of the project entails the construction of at least
five offshore berths, which will be dedicated for the
export of coal from the Botswana coalfields. Again, the
berths will be linked to the shore via an above-the-water
access trestle on which a bulk conveyor belt will run,
which will convey the coal from the stockpiles behind
Dune 7 to the shiploader on the berth, and onto the
ship. This dry bulk terminal would eventually be capable
of handling up to 100 million tons of coal per annum,
making it one of the largest bulk terminals in the world.
Phase 6: The dig-out basin
Future phases of the project will involve the digging out of
the port basin into the land. b
Equipment at Port of Walvis Bay
Mobile harbour
crane
104t
× 3
140t
× 3
84t
× 1 Container trailers
60t
× 49
MHC spreader
51t
× 7
41t
× 4 Front-end loaders
× 3
Reach stacker
45t
× 15
Wharf crane
4t
× 5
Forklift
4t
× 23
16t
× 2
32t
× 1
MHC grab
16t
× 1
18t
× 1
Hauler
75t
× 50
RTG spreader
51t
× 6
RTG
51t
× 8
Information provided by Namport during a tour to the facility.
www.africanmining.co.za
Vessels at sea waiting to enter the Port of Walvis Bay. Walvis Bay is
becoming one of the most popular ports in southern Africa.
JANUARY - FEBRUARY 2019 AFRICAN MINING
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