Staff Reporter
A Zimbabwean business delegation recently visited Namibia to enhance business linkages and explore opportunities in imports and exports between the two countries.
They are also looking at the storage of products at the Zimbabwe dry port. The main objective of the visit was to explore the Port of Walvis Bay and the Walvis Bay Corridors as an alternative trade route.
The delegation, which consisted of executives from BAK Logistics, conducted business to business (B2B) meetings, toured the Zimbabwe dry port as well as the Port of Walvis Bay and its facilities. BAK Logistics is one of the largest logistics service providers in Zimbabwe, and has various partnerships that enable it to have an international reach.
The delegation was hosted by the Walvis Bay Corridor Group (WBCG), who with key industry stakeholders, conducted a trade mission to Zimbabwe last year in October 2021.
According to Mary Machigaidze, Managing Director of BAK Logistics, the purpose of the visit was to engage the Namibian business community to explore opportunities and the viability of using the Port of Walvis Bay as an alternative and the Zimbabwe dry port facility for exports and imports to and from Zimbabwe.
“We are targeting increased trade with Namibia through strategic partnerships with local companies in the transport and logistics sector, and we are confident that our engagements will yield positive outcomes,” she said.
The use of the Port of Walvis Bay and the Walvis Bay Corridors is expected to significantly cut costs for goods coming and going to Europe and the Americas. Importers and exporters can either use the Walvis Bay Corridors via the Walvis Bay-Ndola-Lubumbashi Development Corridor (WBNLDC) into Zimbabwe or the Trans Kalahari Corridor (TKC) via Botswana.
Zimbabwe has mostly been using the traditional routes via ports in South Africa and Mozambique.
According to the Chief Executive Officer of the Walvis Bay Corridor Group (WBCG), Mbahupu Tjivikua, the disruption in the regional supply chain due to the security incidences and congestion at some ports, has created an opportunity for the Walvis Bay Corridors to increase transit cargo via the port of Walvis Bay and the Walvis Bay Corridors. “Our corridors are the safest, most secure and most efficient trade routes for exports and imports in the SADC region,” said Tjivikua.