Dry port project picks up after bureaucratic delays

The Transport Hub is overseeing the development of the dry port that stems from a 2006 meeting of the heads of state of Botswana and Namibia. In 2008, the two countries signed a Memorandum of Understanding on the project under which Namibia granted Botswana a 50-year lease for a 36, 233-square metre piece of land on which to develop the dry port.

The dry port, which will give Botswana access to the Atlantic Ocean, is intended to boost Botswana's exports to Europe by cutting time and costs associated with South African ports the country currently uses. These exports include base metals and beef that form a significant part of the P29.3 billion value of exports recorded last year.