Lobito - Namibian authorities assigned to the Port of Walvis Bay on Tuesday visited Lobito, centre-west Benguela Province, with the aim of intensifying bilateral cooperation with the Port of Lobito, ANGOP learned.
Speaking to the press, the executive director of the Ministry of Labor and Transport of the Republic of Namibia, Esther Kaapanda, said she had addressed issues regarding the maritime sector, worrying about the environment, with a view to avoiding pollution of the ocean.
To her, the Lobito Porto and Namibia should work together to complement each other and be sustainable and efficient regarding the transport of goods.
Esther Kaapanda also revealed that the Namibian authorities are entering into contacts with the Angolan authorities regarding railway interconnection between the two countries, specifically in Oshikango, on the border.
According to her, Angola and Namibia have large infrastructures in the Transport sector and she advocates that it is necessary to keep them updated, whenever necessary.
She stated that if both countries do not have railway, road and airport infrastructure, the use of ports will not have great results in economic terms.
Still during the exchange of income with the port authorities of Lobito, the Chairman of the Board of Directors (CEO) of the Port of Walvis Bay, Mbohupu Tjivikua, presented some concerns that have been occurring in his country, regarding cargo transportation.
The Namibian government official revealed that recently his country discovered oil and gás, which will arouse the interest of investors, causing port traffic to increase considerably.
He added that the Port had difficulties in receiving large ships, with loads of up to five thousand tons, which forced them to carry out transshipment as well as the rust in the means, caused by the saltpeter that has damaged the means.
Mbohupu Tjivikua said that they want to work together to outline trade strategies for the development of our countries.
In turn, the chairman of the Board of Directors of the Port of Lobito, Celso Rosas, said that it was a rewarding meeting, to the extent that development projects were envisaged to reinforce cooperation between the two ports.
“They came to make a prospecting visit with the aim of finding factors that could motivate doing business”, he considered.
“The Namibians looked for details about the Port’s functionality and gathered our experience. As we are a brotherly country, we are open to working together”, he clarified.
According to the Celso Rosas, the objective is to do everything to ensure the proper functioning of African ports, especially in the southern region.
Asked about the result of the visit of several delegations, from different countries, to Porto, Celso Rosas said that “it is the Lobito Corridor brand that is expanding worldwide”.
Lobito Port is located in a bay five thousand meters long and two meters wide. Its main infrastructures are the multipurpose terminals (general and containerized cargo) and the mineral terminal and a Dry Port.
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