Tuulikki Abraham
Lüderitz-Lüderitz mayor Hilaria Mukapuli has reiterated that the Lüderitz Town Council in being a custodian of the town is indeed a strategic partner with Namport in pursuing the development of a new deep water port.
Namibia wants to be a logistics hub for SADC and is positioning herself to be a gateway of imports and exports for southern Africa, she added.
She said any future new development initiative will have advantages and challenges but with mitigating factors is something that must be supported by business, residents and respective stakeholders in Lüderitz.
“The economic growth of our town has been at the same level for decades, however one sees great opportunites in the Environmental Scoping Assessment exercise by Namport and GEO Pollution Technology and this may culminate in the deep water port development at Angra Point,” Maukapuli stated.
Mukapuli made the comments during the public meeting pertaining to the Environmental Scoping Assessment (EIA) being conducted on the proposed development of a new deep water port at Angra Point in Lüderitz. The meeting was held recently at Lüderitz Junior Secondary School.
Mukapuli stressed it is high time that residents and the business community embrace development and be optimistic rather than having negative tendencies that will cripple development.
The port will have a natural depth of between 16 to 18 metres and will give Lüderitz a competitive edge over other ports in SADC. It will allow Lüderitz to serve as a gateway for goods and services to international markets especially targeting the Northern Cape manganese, iron ore and other mines. The project will create employment opportunities, injection of capital inflow into Lüderitz and generate more revenue for the country.
The public meeting was well attended and a lot of people shared their opinions and agreement on developing the new port.
Chairperson of //Karas Regional Council and !Nami-#Nus Constituency Councillor Jan Scholtz said presently the town is dependent almost entirely on mining and fishing .
“The new port will provide the town with additional revenue resources and jobs. The town will be an active port of entry and exit for merchandise, which will be able to come into a successful place in terms of the twinning agreement that has been in place between the Northern Cape and //Kharas Region. This will certainly uplift the economic stance in the region. This and many other projects are good news that we will have to position ourselves to start enjoying,” Scholtz said.