WALVIS BAY - With the expansion and revitalising project of the Port of Walvis Bay approaching completion, the Namibian Ports Authority has made more land available for the storage of bulk fuel to increase strategic fuel security for the country.

Speaking at the S&P Global Platts European Oil Storage Conference in Amsterdam recently, Elias Mwenyo, Namibian Ports Authority’s Acting Senior Manager: Commercial, said that the new liquid bulk terminal for oil should be commissioned by mid-2018.

According to an article published on www.tankstoragemag.com, the facility will increase Namibia’s security of fuel supply from 10 to 40 days and that the planned storage facility will eventually cater for the entire southern African market.

Once complete, the facility will have a total capacity of 75 million litres, which will be able to store various grades of diesel, as well as unleaded petrol, heavy fuel oil and aviation fuel.

Mwenyo said that in addition to the current storage plans, there are 82 hectares of land still available for the construction of a tank farm in future. 

He indicated that Namport is open to investment proposals and that many such opportunities are available.

“There is the potential for an additional oil storage facility in Namibia,” he added.

The infrastructure expansion project is expected to be completed by the middle of 2019 and is aimed at gaining more business for the port. The expansion is part of the Namibia Government’s plan to boost the country’s economy through its geographical positioning to landlocked Southern African Development Community (SADC) countries.

The expansion of the Port of Walvis Bay is taking place by way of two mega projects in the two areas of the port, namely the North port and the South port.

The Walvis Bay South port is the new container terminal, built on reclaimed land which will handle containerised cargo. The North port is the construction of the new liquid bulk terminal consisting of two new heavy duty tanker berths.

The North port has already been dredged to a depth of 16.5m below chart datum. The expansion is also focussed on boosting tourism at the coast. Part of the South port new container terminal expansion project is a cruise ship terminal, where cruise liners will dock in future. Sources: Namport and www.tankstoragemag.com