discuss the role of intermodal transportation in the case above
Namibia: Walvis Bay Port is now a regional logistic hub
The new container terminal at the Namibian Port of Walvis Bay, built between 2014 and 2019, gives the
country a high-end port facility. The terminal, commissioned in August 2019, is now fully operational,
according to a report by the African Development Bank published on 3 September 2020. The port is expanded
on 40 hectares of reclaimed land, costing nearly $300 million. The works included the dredging of over 3.9
million cubic metres of sand, used partly for reclamation, construction of a 600-metre quay wall, laying
304,000 square metres of paved surface, and the construction of a workshop and administrative buildings.
It also entailed the installation of four ship-to-shore (STS) cranes, the construction of a one-kilometre road,
the laying of 2.3 km of rail lines, and the installation of service networks. The facility's electricity supply was
also successfully upgraded, the report noted. The expansion increased the terminal's capacity from 355,000 TEUs (20-foot equivalent units) to 750,000
TEUs yearly. It has also reduced vessel waiting time to less than 8 hours and cut container transit time from
14.5 days to 9.5 days. The expansion has steered Walvis Bay port towards becoming a logistics hub for
southern Africa. The new development enables the port of Walvis Bay to meet the growing demand for
freight while promoting new maritime access to serve the SADC landlocked countries. Over the past months,
the shipping industry has adopted a new modus operandi of using bigger ships instead of multiple small
vessels to transport cargo to save operational costs and consolidate resources. The new expansion extends
the saving benefits to the SADC market. In April 2020, the 9000 TEUs Maersk Sheerness was the largest vessel
to ever dock in the Namibian waters.
Source: Development bank (2020) and Namport (2020)
1. discuss the role of intermodal transportation in the case above? [10 marks]
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