Windhoek-Botswana business sector and the government have commissioned a study on how the country can benefit from a dry port facility it was offered by Namibia as the two bordering countries take steps to boost trade.
Botswana Export Development and Investment Authority (BEDIA) said that the study on the Walvis Bay dry port facility would be concluded by October this year after which the country hopes to start utilising the dry port facility.
BEDIA manager export enterprise development Maxwell Mosinyi said that Botswana's business sector will benchmark against dry port facilities in other countries.
Namibia offered landlocked Botswana dry port facility at the deep water port of Walvis Bay to use a trade conduit for import and export of its products.
Mosinyi said that the port of Walvis Bay offers excellent opportunities for Botswana businesses to move their goods. Botswana currently exports and imports goods through South African ports.
Mosinyi said that the proximity of Walvis Bay and the good infrastructure link between the two countries means that Botswana businesses stand better benefits from using Namibia as a trade corridor to the outside markets.
"The government has commissioned a study of which we as the business sector we are also part. We are looking at how best the dry port facility can be utilised and we are going to benchmark against other countries which have similar facilities," Mosinyi said.
Speaking on the sidelines of a Botswana business conduct promotion mission in Namibia, Mosinyi said that the Namibian port has numerous advantages.
"South Africa is a much longer route compared to Walvis Bay," Mosinyi said.
He also said that trade between the two countries is very low adding that efforts to boost trade between the two countries should be fast tracked.
Botswana High Commissioner to Namibia Duke Lefhoko told the Botswana business delegation that trade between the two neighbouring countries is very low.
"There is minimal trade between Namibia and Botswana and this is despite the excellent relations and the shared boundaries," Lefhoko said.
Lefhoko said that he hopes the Botswana business delegation's mission in Namibia would lay the foundation for more trade between the two countries. "Intra-regional trade will act as a buffer from impacts of external shocks such as the recent global economic recession. This has been clearly demonstrated in Asian economies, which were not seriously hurt by the global economic downturn," Lefhoko said.
"The negative economic growths experienced in Botswana and Namibia in 2009 are some of the latent dangers of over reliance on external markets. "Why are we keen to send our raw materials elsewhere before we get the first benefits," Lefhoko queried.
