WINDHOEK -- China Harbour and Engineering Company has started work on the multi-billion Namibian dollar Southern African Development Community Gateway Port at Walvis Bay in Namibia.

The company has also started building a workers' camp for more than 3,000 people.

The company has embarked on constructing an access road before working on Phase One of the port project, which requires widening the harbour by about 180 metres and creating an access tunnel that will be 16.5 metres deep.

The access road will be used to transport construction equipment and material from the B2 coastal highway to the construction site.

The construction of the port, which is being funded by the Ministry of Mines and Energy, is expected to take about 27 months.

Once the access road is completed, the CHEC will embark on the construction of two tanker berths to replace the old ones that have been in use for more than 50 years.

The project that has started a year ahead of schedule will cater for commodity exports and importers from landlocked SADC countries.

It will include the largest, most modern ship and rig repair yard on the west African coast. It will also have one of the largest gas and oil supply bases in the region; and an undercover dry bulk terminal that can handle more than 100 million tons per year.

In addition, there will be a large vehicle import terminal; multi-purpose and break bulk terminal; liquid bulk terminals consisting of large tank farms and tanker berths; and a container terminal believed to be able to handle two million units per year.

Last year in November, Clive Smith of the Walvis Bay Corridor Group said the development of logistics in Namibia would help towards attaining the goals of Vision 2030, which requires Namibia to reach developmental stages that are critical in generating jobs and moving the economy ahead.

The new port will lead to the development of several "super hubs" in Namibia along the main corridors linking Namibia to the SADC region.

These hubs will stimulate economic activity in the various regions, mitigating rural migration of the labour force to the capital Windhoek and the coast.