Namport, Namibia's ports authority, is stepping up promotion of the Walvis Bay Corridors — a set of road and rail links connecting the port to Botswana, Zambia and the Copperbelt region of the Democratic Republic of Congo — as a faster alternative to routes through South African ports for landlocked cargo.
Officials point to Walvis Bay's comparatively low congestion and shorter vessel turnaround times as an advantage for shippers willing to route cargo through the corridor rather than Durban, though the road distances involved remain considerable.
The Walvis Bay Corridor Group, which coordinates the initiative, said it continues to work with border posts along the route to reduce clearance times, which it views as a bigger constraint on corridor competitiveness than port-side capacity.