Windhoek
The Finnish Embassy in Windhoek and the Namibia University of Science and Technology (NUST) yesterday jointly launched the preparatory phase of an ecosystem project titled “NAMHUB: Developing Namibia as a green, safe and smart transport and logistics hub for southern Africa.”
The project is funded by the Finnish funding agency Tekes (Euro 60 000) together with four Finnish research partners (Euro 40 000).
The NAMHUB project is based on the fast expansion of the mega hub in Namibia for transport and logistics and entails activities in ports, roads and railway.
Namibia, as a key player of the mega hub, supports the importation and exportation of goods to neighbouring countries and other member states within the Southern African Development Community (SADC). The project aims to form an ecosystem for the provision of products, services and capacity building in the country.
“Today, we’re committing to partner in the NAMHUB initiative, which will develop and enhance Namibia as an efficient logistics hub. This is in line with our National Development Plan 4, which places logistics, in addition to tourism, manufacturing and agriculture, as one of four focal points for development to achieve high and sustained economic growth, increased income equality and employment creation,” said NUST Vice-Rector Dr Tjama Tjivikua.
He said that NUST is making unique contributions to the local economy by focusing on scientific and technological enhancements, citing the Namibian-German Centre for Logistics (NGCL) at NUST as one such contributor. “The opportunity for Namibia to become a top logistics hub should be pursued, for when a region espouses global supply chains, and has appropriate port facilities, there is an opportunity for an economic boom,” Tjivikua said.
The NAMHUB project forms part of Tekes and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ Business with Impact (Beam) programme for innovation, meeting the needs of developing countries and providing Finnish companies with new business opportunities in Namibia as well as local companies new opportunities in Finland.
The NAMHUB research project initiative comes soon after the launch of Namibia’s Logistics Hub Master Plan in 2015. The Logistics Hub Master Plan encompasses several issues, challenges and implementation strategies from different sectors not only locally and in the region, but from international partners as well.
“As you all know, the Walvis Bay Corridor Group, which is active in establishing partnerships to market the logistics hub concept, needs embassies that have the capabilities and knowledge to share the country’s vision with the outside world,” Tjivikua noted.
“The building of the ecosystem includes benchmarking and bringing in Finnish expertise to offer green, safe and smart infrastructure and solutions to the growing need of Namibia as a regional transportation and logistics hub,” commented Anne Saloranta, Finnish Ambassador to Namibia.
She added that this new concept builds on the ‘Namurban project’ launched in October last year.
“The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Finland and the Finnish Embassy here in Namibia are proud to be partners in this new project endeavour. Focus on a key sector for Namibia’s economic empowerment is very much in accordance with Finland’s development policy and its key focus on the reduction of inequality and eradication of extreme poverty. It also corresponds to Namibia’s National Development Plan (NDP 4) and the war on poverty,” Saloranta added.