Dredging completes at Namibe Port

Toyota Tsusho Corporation and TOA CORPORATION said that the rehabilitation of the Sacomar Port iron ore export terminal and the expansion of the Namibe Port container terminal, which were being advanced as a comprehensive development project in Namibe Bay, Republic of Angola, have been completed as of October 10.

Sacomar Port opened in 1967 and served as a hub exporting iron ore from the Cassinga mine in southern Angola.

Operations at the mine and port ceased due to the civil war that lasted from 1975 to 2002. While the mine and port remained in a state of disrepair for many years, the Angolan government reopened the Cassinga mine as a national strategy, making the reconstruction of Sacomar Port, its export hub, essential.

This part of the project involved the construction of a new jetty for iron ore loading (approximately 520 meters in total length) and the development of the port backlands (hinterland).

Namibe Port serves as a logistics hub in southern Angola, connecting to the inland as the starting point of the Moçâmedes Railway.

The quay water depth was previously shallow, making it difficult for large container ships to call at the Port. As a result, the Port had to rely on Walvis Bay Port in the neighboring Republic of Namibia for some of its imports and exports.

This part of the project involved the construction of a container terminal, dredging works, and the supply and installation of cargo handling equipment such as container cranes, vessel traffic services (VTS), and workboats. This will allow the terminal to accommodate large vessels of up to 50,000 DWT (3,000 TEU).

The expansion of the Namibe Port container terminal is set to enable the berthing of large container ships, leading to a significant increase in cargo handling capacity.