The Civil Engineering Contractor November 2018 | Page 14

INFRA AFRICA
NORTH AFRICA SOUTHERN AFRICA
CHAD NAMIBIA
New container terminal at Port
of Walvis Bay takes shape
Transaqua project on Lake Chad
Lake Chad: An estimated 12% of the over 370-million people
in eight countries around the lake depend on it for survival.
12 | CEC November 2018
The new container terminal project at the Port of Walvis
Bay consists of the dredging and reclamation of 40ha of land
offshore in the south-west corner of the port on which a
modern container terminal will be built:
• Project proponent: Namibian Ports Authority
• Financier: African Development Bank
• Project budget: NAD4.2-billion
This new container terminal will be linked to the existing
port land by a 106m-wide solid access causeway also to be
reclaimed. All material to be used for land reclamation consists
of sandy material that is sourced from the area to be dredged,
which is immediately adjacent to the new reclamation. These
newly dredged areas will form the berth pockets and turning
basin of the new container terminal. Six hundred metres of
new quay wall (berth length) will be created alongside the
existing 1 900m of berth length. This new quay wall will
be of the deck-on-piles type of quay wall, all reinforced
concrete with piles of 1.4m-diameter thickness, and with pile
founding depths of up to about 51m below mean sea level.
The new container terminal will have two large berths for
accommodating two container vessels at once. The throughput
capacity of the new container terminal will be 750 000 TEUs
(twenty-foot equivalent units/containers) a year and will be
connected to the existing port’s road network, rail network,
utilities networks, as well as communication systems.
This project also includes the construction of a jetty that will
accommodate Namport small craft on the one side and up to
8 000 deadweight passenger liners on the other side. This will
be the first time that a dedicated passenger liner berth is built
in the Port of Walvis Bay. The new container terminal will have
a minimum throughput capacity of 750 000 TEUs per annum,
whereas the existing container terminal’s throughput capacity
is 350 000 TEUs per annum. While more than doubling the
port’s throughput capacity, this project will also increase
the port’s attractiveness to shipping lines due to increased
productivity with faster ship turnaround times. nn
Chinese construction giant PowerChina and Italian firm
Bonifica SpA have signed a deal concerning the regeneration
of Lake Chad. The agreement includes carrying out feasibility
studies on transferring water from the River Congo in the
DRC to replenish Lake Chad. Due to falling rainfall levels
and increased irrigation, the lake’s area has shrunk from
20 000km 2 to just 2 000km 2 . Other factors, such as an
influx of refugees fleeing the atrocities of Boko Haram, have
contributed to increased demand.
The proposed major water diversion scheme would involve
channelling a small percentage of the 41 200m 3 per second
water flow from the River Congo towards the north via a
navigable canal. In terms of water flow, the Congo is by a
long way the second-biggest river in the world, albeit still a
fraction of the mighty Amazon River. The Lake Chad Basin
Commission says the pan-African project is necessary to
restore peace and security in the Lake Chad region and for the
promotion of navigation, as well as industrial and economic
development in the whole Congo basin. The water could
feasibly be used to create hydroelectricity, as well as boosting
regional trade, creating new economic infrastructure like
river ports, and making new agro-industrial zones.
The canal will effectively create a New Silk Road to Lake
Chad and there are plans to have a service road and eventually
a rail line run alongside the waterway, creating more
infrastructure and access. Mohammed Bila of the Lake Chad
Basin Commission said Africa can become the next China if
it invests in the Transaqua infrastructure with the support
and partnership of China and Europe. With investment so
far of USD1.8-million from China and USD2.5-million
from Italy, this project could launch Africa on the road to
economic growth, human security, industrialisation, peace,
development, and the attainment of the dreams of pan-
African leaders, said the Commission. nn
The Port of Walvis Bay.
www.civilsonline.co.za