New plan for Namibe

News 24 Jan 2019 by WCN Editorial

Toyota Tsusho of Japan plans to invest US$600M in developing the port of Namibe in Angola

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The Japanese government financed a feasibility study into the redevelopment of the port in 2009. TOA Corporation, also of Japan, has already carried out some rehabilitation work, including strengthening a 240m stretch of the existing quay and paving the container storage area, with a US$20M grant from the Japan International Cooperation Agency. The existing port facilities are managed by Sogester.

Angola’s President João Lourenço has introduced a wide range of economic reforms and new policies since he came to power in September 2017. Some contracts relating to the port sector have been cancelled, as Lourenço has sought to distance himself from the small group of people who dominated the economy under his predecessor, José Eduardo dos Santos. He has also sought to ensure that the country’s principal ports are modernised.

Toyota Tsusho is to provide half of the US$650M investment costs itself and borrow the remainder. The Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC) has opened up a line of credit for infrastructural projects in Angola and Luanda has sanctioned the use of this financing for the Namibe project. JBIC has already invested heavily in port projects in Mozambique and Kenya.

Namibe is the most southerly of Angola’s three main ports and the smallest of the three. It is the terminus of the Moçâmedes railway, which runs 860 km eastwards to Menongue. Historically, it handled mining and agricultural exports, but its use declined sharply during the civil war, which ended in 2002. Current use is also restricted by the lack of cargo handling equipment. The Japanese company has not yet provided details of its development plans.

Elsewhere in Angola, a local company is to invest US$40M in developing Luanda multipurpose terminal. Transportadora de Cargas, Operadora de Terminais e Transitário (Unicargas) is to provide some new cargo handling equipment and resurface the terminal area.