Lüderitz set to double manganese exports

The Port of Lüderitz is gearing up to become the export hub for manganese ore brought in from the Northern Cape, South Africa, Walvis Bay Corridor Group CEO Hippy Tjivikua has said.

The southerly-located port has grown in prominence for the transit of manganese to its export destinations over the last five years.

Tjivikua said efforts are well underway to double export volumes.

“We have been carrying manganese from the Northern Cape, exporting through the Port of Lüderitz, and we are gearing towards doubling the volumes in that regard,” Tjivikua said during a business-to-business meeting with South African companies currently in Namibia seeking to develop beneficial relations with local companies.

All eyes on Lüderitz

The Namibia Ports Authority (Namport) has introduced a manganese project that is expected to add an additional 360 000 tonnes of cargo per year through the Port of Lüderitz, resulting in a 60% overall volume increase, the Windhoek Observer reported earlier this year.

A South African think tank, the Trade Law Centre NPC, in 2022, opined that mismanagement of that country’s rail and port public entities gave rise to the prominance of the Port of Lüderitz as a transit point for manganese exports.

“Transnet’s failings have offered opportunities to other players. Namibian logistics parastatal Namport and the Port of Lüderitz have seized the moment. And a new cross-border value chain has been created. Lüderitz is about the same distance from the Northern Cape manganese field as Gqeberha (formerly Port Elizabeth), the site of Transnet’s only dedicated manganese terminal. But Lüderitz Bay appears to be a more efficient option and has set out to maximise the opportunity,” it said.