page_title: Walvis Bay
section_title: Transport
hierarchical_section_title: Walvis Bay / Transport
caption_attribution_description: Deutsch: Flughafen Walfish Bay Luftaufnahme (2017) English: Walvis Bay Airport from Bird´s eye view (2017)
context_page_description: Walvis Bay, meaning "Whale Bay" in English, is a city in Namibia and the name of the bay on which it lies. The city covers a total area of 29 square kilometres of land.
  The bay is a safe haven for sea vessels because of its natural deepwater harbour, protected by the Pelican Point sand spit, being the only natural harbour of any size along the country's coast. Being rich in plankton and marine life, these waters also drew large numbers of southern right whales, attracting whalers and fishing vessels.
  The Dutch referred to it as Walvisch Baye and the English as Whale Bay. In its eventual formal incorporation, it was named Walfish Bay, which was changed to Walvish Bay, and ultimately to Walvis Bay. It has also been referred to as Walwich Bay or Walwisch Bay. The Herero people of the area called it Ezorongondo.
  A succession of colonists developed the location and resources of this strategic harbour settlement. The harbour's value in relation to the sea route around the Cape of Good Hope had caught the attention of world powers since it was discovered by the outside world in 1485. This explains the complicated political status of Walvis Bay down the years.
context_section_description: Walvis Bay is an important logistical port for the southern African region, providing port facilities for the import and export of cargo for the rest of Namibia, Zambia, Democratic Republic of Congo, and Botswana. Since the Walvis Bay Corridor Group (WBCG) was established in 2000, cargo moving through the port has increased from 30,000 containers a year to 370,000 containers in 2016.  As of 2017 the port was being upgraded to increase its capacity to move 1 million containers a year by 2019.  Bureaucratic and logistical problems at the city's competitor port at Durban, South Africa have diverted traffic to the port at Walvis Bay. Ninety-five percent of all cargo hauled overland through Walvis Bay is carried by truck.
  The Walvis Bay Corridor Group is gearing up to increase import/export-business opportunities in Namibia. The Namibian National Development Plan expects to complete the expansion programme of the Walvis Bay port by 2019. Because of the harbour's geographical positioning, authorities plan to gain a footprint in providing landlocked Southern African Development Community (SADC) countries with a vital logistical hub. In addition to the importance of the port, development would strengthen trade corridors which consists of current road and rail networks.
  In an attempt to strengthen and enhance trade relations between other African countries, Namport (the Namibian Port Authority) in April 2019 signed a five-year MoU (Memorandum of Understanding) with the Port Authority of Dakar, Senegal.
  Walvis Bay International Airport provides commercial flight services to the city's residents, as well as to neighbouring towns and villages. Both Air Namibia and Westair Aviation service flights between their respective hubs in Windhoek and Walvis Bay.
caption: Walvis Bay Airport.
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