Logistics dream derailed by slow progress

Namibia has missed its target of becoming a regional logistics hub by 2025 as outlined in the fourth National Development Plan (NDP4).

A revised master plan is now under review, following delays in rail, aviation, and regulatory infrastructure.

This comes as the original phased strategy envisioned short-term expansion by 2020.

“We are now in 2025, and I can assure you we are not there yet. So for that reason, we are revising the master plan, because there are quite a number of developments that are still pending.

“Some of our railway infrastructure is lacking, and in the aviation space, there’s also a lot to be done,” says Walvis Bay Corridor Group project manager for the logistics hub Gilbert Boois.

“When you envisage positioning yourself as a logistics hub, you have to have all these different elements. First and foremost, you need to have an efficient port.

“Of course, you have to think about your intermodal set-up – your road, your rail, your border infrastructure, regulatory environment, policy environment, and legislative environment,” he says.

Namibia’s corridor network consists of four main routes – three via Walvis Bay and one via Lüderitz.

These connect to regional markets, with copper, fertilisers, and consumables among the main commodities moved through the system.
“Logistics is essentially a volume game. It’s really about how you drive volumes to achieve the desired economies of scale,” Boois says.

Governance of the hub development includes oversight from the Cabinet, steering committees, and mixed-sector working groups.

“In 2015, we started with a logistics hub initiative we are spearheading on behalf of the Namibian government. It’s not our project. It’s a Namibian government project we are implementing on their behalf,” he says.

The initial phase, known as the ‘Transport Corridor’, aimed to remove bottlenecks and grow Namibia’s share in the international transport market.
According to the plan, this included scaling capacity by 2.5 times by 2020.

The second ‘Economic Corridor’ phase targeted Namibia’s transformation into a regional supply and distribution depot, ultimately contributing to Vision 2030 and industrialisation.

He says while port infrastructure has progressed, other key components such as rail networks, border facilities, and aviation remain underdeveloped, with private concessions now operating under a landlord model.

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