Oct 09, 2018: The expansion of Port of Walvis Bay is under way, with 85 percent of the work already completed, according to the African Development Bank (AfDB). Construction of the new container terminal is expected to be completed by June 2019.

The project includes the construction of a new container terminal on 40 hectares of land reclaimed from the sea. It is aimed at increasing sustainable trade between the Southern African Development Community (SADC) and the rest of the world.

Supported by a R3billion loan from the AfDB, the new terminal is expected to increase container handling capacity from the current 355,000 TEU up to 1,005,000 TEU a year.

This additional capacity is expected to help lower the transport costs of cargo moving in and out of the SADC region.

Philip Coetzee, Woker Freight Service general manager said that the expansion would result in an increase in business volumes, cargo flows and additional commodities moving through the port due to the easier and much faster transit between southern Africa, Europe, Asia and the Americas.