Work on the new port just to the north of Walvis Bay is set to begin during April, according to the Chinese construction company, China Harbour and Engineering Company (CHEC), which last week began cutting a road to the site, reports the Namibian newspaper Informanté
The new port is being referred to as the SADC Gateway Port.
The same construction company is building a new container terminal at the old Walvis Bay port, on an infill area in the present harbour.
Phase 1 of the Gateway Port involves dredging a 180m wide, 16.5m deep entrance channel and turning basin plus two tanker berths.
The idea is that the first phase of the Gateway Port will replace the existing tanker berths at Walvis Bay, which date back to 1959 and have needed structural rehabilitation work to be carried out.
Included in Phase 1 is the construction of an access roadway from the B2 coastal road westward to the sea, as well as an accommodation facility for the estimated 3,000 workers that will be required.
The new tanker berths will be connected by a pipeline to a new tank farm in the Walvis Bay oil depot area.
Funding for Phase 1 is coming from Namibia’s Ministry of Mines and Energy, as part of its mandate to secure and protect Namibia’s strategic fuel reserves.
The construction period is expected to be 27 months, suggesting that this part of the new port could be in use by August 2017.– Informante