Windhoek – The town of Usakos, some 180 kilometres from Walvis Bay on the western coast of Namibia, has teamed up with MDL International and foreign financiers to develop an oil storage facility that could store over 200 million litres of fuel to be distributed to markets in the Southern African region.

The massive investment, projected to cost over R3 billion, could transform the sleepy town into a bustling urban logistics centre with promises to create 1,600 direct and indirect jobs.

“It is a large-scale undertaking for this area. MDL International and its investors envisage the establishment of a fuel and gas storage terminal in Usakos from where it wants to distribute these products to countries like Angola, Botswana, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Zambia and Zimbabwe,” said an upbeat Ivin Lombardt, Chief Executive Officer of the Usakos Town Council.

He said MDL International has already started phase 1 of the project, which is to establish a logistics centre, followed by phase 2 later in the year with the construction of the actual storage terminal.

“The second phase will last a couple of years, mainly because of the size and scale of the project,” Lombardt said, adding that the recruitment drive for the project has already started.

MDL is one of the leading providers of innovative, integrated, shipping and logistics solutions to the energy, mining, and infrastructure sectors that started its activities in 1998 in Namibia.

The company is also engaged in the business of oil and gas, globally. 

The Usakos CEO said the town council is enjoying the full support of the Erongo Governor’s Office and the Ministry of Urban and Rural Development to ensure the successful delivery of the project.

“We expect Namibian entrepreneurs and established businesses to take advantage of the opportunity to provide other upscale services. This investment will define the future of the town of Usakos in a massive way. It will be used as the anchor around which other business initiatives such as banking, insurance, retail, agriculture will be rallied,” he enthused.

Usakos is some 216 kilometres north of Windhoek and is strategically located as it is the mid-point on the B2 road between Windhoek and Walvis Bay.

It also lies on the Trans-Kalahari Highway and the Trans-Kunene Corridor, which connect to the Southern African Development Community (SADC) region.

“Any wise businessperson, who does business in both Windhoek and Walvis Bay or along the B2 Road, is well advised to locate themselves in Usakos. Both Windhoek and Walvis Bay are reachable within two hours from here. Also Swakopmund, Henties Bay, Omaruru and Otjiwarongo are within easy reach. Rail and road infrastructure is superb,” advised Lombardt.

He said there are abundant opportunities for investment in the areas of residential and commercial property development, tourism, education, health sector, service provision and more.

“I am glad to say that many potential investors have recognised these facts and we are currently inundated with enquiries from people interested in establishing warehouses, tourist facilities, retail outlets, banking and the insurance sector,” he said.

MDL International Trade’s head office is located in Windhoek, but plans to create eight strategic subsidiary representatives in Europe, the USA and across Africa. 

This is not the first time a project of this magnitude has been planned for the western town; another business entrepreneur at the town has also mooted the idea of establishing a dry port there to turn the area into a logistics and transport hub and boost investment that can support social and economic activity.

John Sanders, owner of Amir Consulting Services which specialises in transport economics and logistics, proposed an ambitious investment plan of R150 million that, according to him, would speed up the handling of cargo and transport of consignments to desired destinations from the deepwater port of Walvis Bay to the SADC region.

Walvis Bay serves many land-locked countries and is known as one of the most efficient natural ports with a significant capacity to store and move cargo in Southern Africa.

Sanders estimated net income to be worth R1.3 billion for the town.

He believes that a dry port at Usakos, which would be an extension of Namport’s Walvis Bay port, would speed up the administrative processing of cargo as some consignments can be immediately transported to that town to free up space at the harbour so that other cargo can be handled.

According to Lombardt, Sanders’ initiative has not taken off yet and they are still waiting, but have also invited other business people to approach them for such investments.

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