CHAMWE KAIRA
Namport and Terminal Investment Limited (TIL) remain seized with finalizing the terms, conditions and all attendant schedules to the proposed concession of the port of Walvis Bay.
Terminal Investment Limited was founded in 2000 by the Aponte Family to secure container terminal capacity in the major ports called by our majority owner and main client, MSC Mediterranean Shipping Company. Securing increasingly restricted terminal capacity is critical to the development of MSC’s core container shipping business.
“We will therefore, in due course, make the appropriate and necessary public pronouncements once the process has been completed,” Taná Pesat, Manager of Corporate Communication at Namport told the Windhoek Observer this week.
Namport announced last year that has settled on Swiss-based container terminal operator Terminal Investment Limited (TIL), as the preferred bidder to run the port utility’s new container terminal.
“The Namibian Ports Authority (Namport) appreciates the enquiries on the ongoing process of concessioning the New Container Terminal at the Port of Walvis Bay and remains committed to transparently sharing information on the status and rationale for this strategic project,” said Pesat.
The new container terminal comprises of a new quay wall providing for two additional berths, a container stacking and interchange yard, additional turning basin, four post Panamax ship to shore cranes, upgrade of utilities and ancillary equipment and systems amounted to a total cost of N$4.2 billion.
The decision to embark on the project followed various studies which pointed at the capacity of the old container terminal, which then stood at an annual throughput of 350,000 TEU’s, nearing full utilization.
In layman’s terms, concessioning is the process whereby an asset, owned by the public sector, is availed for operation and management by the private sector, for a defined period of time at a fee and undertakings of mutually set investment upgrades.
