Full steam ahead for TransNamib

Specializing in the transportation of bulk and containerized freight throughout Namibian and beyond, TransNamib Holdings Ltd is the national transport logistic provider and utilizes a combination of rail and road transport.

The Windhoek-based company serves both the Namibian and regional markets and has a vast range of commercial depots in key centers in Namibia and South Africa, where the State-owned firm has a strong presence in cities like Johannesburg, Durban and Cape Town.

TransNamib facilitates the reliable and cost-effective movement of valuable cargoes in the Southern Africa Development Community region and is looking to attract major investment from China, particularly in the Walvis Bay Development Corridor.

The firm has worked with Chinese suppliers for many years and earlier this year received an injection of $200 million from the government in order to modernize its fleet and upgrade infrastructure. China's Exim Bank has played an important role in providing credit lines to the railway operator for day-to-day operations.

TransNamib CEO, Sara N. M. Naanda, is determined to grow the company's operations and enhance its reputation as the leader in the provision of rail and road transport solutions within and across the borders of the country.

"We recently strengthened our partnership with China Railway Materials Company Limited," she said. "We signed a cooperation agreement in Beijing on how to work together going forward. This trip was very important for us and demonstrates how important China is for us as a company. We have had excellent experiences with China and the amount of engineers they have with expert skills is impressive. We have asked them to come and train our people on the ground and they have agreed.

The senior executive explained that under the country's NDP4 blueprint, the government has given logistics priority status and TransNamib is well positioned to lead the most important changes of the Namibian economy.

"As a new CEO, I want to transform this company - to make it the rail company of choice, especially when it comes to bulk freight," she said. "Even though the country has an open market, with the government inviting companies to invest in various aspects of the road infrastructure, it is my goal to get the freight back on the railways. It is much more environmentally friendly than transporting goods via roads. In Namibia there is a high accident rate on the roads and so rail is safer. Additionally, transporting goods via rail is financially more viable than roads."

TransNamib is also planning to develop its non-freight services by taking advantage of Namibia's booming tourism industry.

Struggle Ihuhua, general manager of TransNamib Properties, said: "We can cater for Chinese tourists as we provide a five-star rail service, called the Desert Express, which runs from Windhoek to Swakopmund."

InFocus provided the story

(China Daily 09/11/2013 page6)