Cement import raises questions
Industry players argue that Whale Rock Cement has received a mining licence and should therefore be obliged to use local products.
Whale Rock Cement has imported 40 000 tonnes of clinker cement, which arrived at the Walvis Bay port around 05:00 on Wednesday morning.
The arrival of the consignment was confirmed by Namport's manager of corporate communications, Taná Pesat.
Pesat said it would take about three weeks to offload the cargo directly from a bulk carrier ship, m/v Magnum Power, onto trucks.
She said 70 to 100 trucks would transport 65 tonnes of clinker per load to Farm Cleveland just outside Otjiwarongo, where Whale Rock Cement has built its cement production plant. Pesar said the bags of clinker would be temporarily stored in a tent-like structure awaiting transport to Otjiwarongo.
“The majority of the cement bags are being loaded onto the trucks as priority, and then transported immediately,” Pesar said.
She estimated that it would take about 20 days to deliver the consignment, with each truck making about six trips. TransNamib sources said there had been negotiations with Whale Rock Cement for transporting the clinker by rail but TransNamib was reluctant to sign an agreement because the company insisted on paying only N$8 000 per load, which was not financially viable for TransNamib.
The clinker is a product of China but was loaded onto the ship at the Al Adabiyah port in Egypt.
According to information the offloading and clearance are being done by a Chinese agent. Sources said no one in the Namibian clearance industry had been approached.
Namport is proud to be handling such a large consignment, said its executive commercial manager, Tino !Hanabeb. “This proves once again the logistical extent Namport can cater to clients with consignments which require a longer period of offloading and minimal storage at the port of Walvis Bay,” !Hanabeb said.
It is understood that the bagged product will be transported by Ocean Liner Services (OLS), as well as Wesbank Transport.
Questions from industry
The importation of the massive consignment of clinker has left industry players dumbfounded because the product is available locally.
“Everything is locally available. If Whale Rock Cement imports raw materials to produce cement here while it has a mining licence, where is local beneficiation and growth at home?” one industry player preferring anonymity said.
Whale Rock Cement is a joint venture between Namibian Cheetah Cement and Chinese Asia and Africa Business Management (XIAN).
It has a 15-year mineral right on 1004 hectares of Farm Cleveland until 2022.
The Otjiwarongo municipality, which is now the owner of Farm Cleveland, has confirmed that it is renting out a 1004-hectare portion on the farm on which the cement plant and mining rights are located to Whale Rock Cement at N$10 million for a period of 50 years.
The municipality said Cheetah Cement had to make a one-off payment of the N$10 million to a community development fund.
According to Whale Rock Cement's final environmental management plan submitted in December 2015 to the Ministry of Environment and Tourism, the company did factor in clinker as a by-product in its processing stages.
Whale Rock Cement's spokesperson, Manfred /Uxamb, referred all questions to other Namibian partners because he said he was on leave this week.
One of the Namibian partners, Willem Nanub, referred the questions back to /Uxamb, saying the other partners are Chinese and presumably therefore would be unable to provide answers.
CATHERINE SASMAN
The arrival of the consignment was confirmed by Namport's manager of corporate communications, Taná Pesat.
Pesat said it would take about three weeks to offload the cargo directly from a bulk carrier ship, m/v Magnum Power, onto trucks.
She said 70 to 100 trucks would transport 65 tonnes of clinker per load to Farm Cleveland just outside Otjiwarongo, where Whale Rock Cement has built its cement production plant. Pesar said the bags of clinker would be temporarily stored in a tent-like structure awaiting transport to Otjiwarongo.
“The majority of the cement bags are being loaded onto the trucks as priority, and then transported immediately,” Pesar said.
She estimated that it would take about 20 days to deliver the consignment, with each truck making about six trips. TransNamib sources said there had been negotiations with Whale Rock Cement for transporting the clinker by rail but TransNamib was reluctant to sign an agreement because the company insisted on paying only N$8 000 per load, which was not financially viable for TransNamib.
The clinker is a product of China but was loaded onto the ship at the Al Adabiyah port in Egypt.
According to information the offloading and clearance are being done by a Chinese agent. Sources said no one in the Namibian clearance industry had been approached.
Namport is proud to be handling such a large consignment, said its executive commercial manager, Tino !Hanabeb. “This proves once again the logistical extent Namport can cater to clients with consignments which require a longer period of offloading and minimal storage at the port of Walvis Bay,” !Hanabeb said.
It is understood that the bagged product will be transported by Ocean Liner Services (OLS), as well as Wesbank Transport.
Questions from industry
The importation of the massive consignment of clinker has left industry players dumbfounded because the product is available locally.
“Everything is locally available. If Whale Rock Cement imports raw materials to produce cement here while it has a mining licence, where is local beneficiation and growth at home?” one industry player preferring anonymity said.
Whale Rock Cement is a joint venture between Namibian Cheetah Cement and Chinese Asia and Africa Business Management (XIAN).
It has a 15-year mineral right on 1004 hectares of Farm Cleveland until 2022.
The Otjiwarongo municipality, which is now the owner of Farm Cleveland, has confirmed that it is renting out a 1004-hectare portion on the farm on which the cement plant and mining rights are located to Whale Rock Cement at N$10 million for a period of 50 years.
The municipality said Cheetah Cement had to make a one-off payment of the N$10 million to a community development fund.
According to Whale Rock Cement's final environmental management plan submitted in December 2015 to the Ministry of Environment and Tourism, the company did factor in clinker as a by-product in its processing stages.
Whale Rock Cement's spokesperson, Manfred /Uxamb, referred all questions to other Namibian partners because he said he was on leave this week.
One of the Namibian partners, Willem Nanub, referred the questions back to /Uxamb, saying the other partners are Chinese and presumably therefore would be unable to provide answers.
CATHERINE SASMAN
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