Imagine being photographed with Jack Ma, Sam Nujoma, Xi Jinping in Walvis Bay at the commissioning of this port?
The shuttle speeds past Hilton Hotel but Oiva Willbard’s pensiveness turns into apprehension as he finds himself stuck in traffic around Windhoek High School. “It’s lunch hour, I am afraid you might miss the flight if these parents are this slow,” says his chauffeur, stomach-churning words that compound Oiva’s fears. He cannot miss this flight, China Harbour Engineering Company (Chec) has paid for everything, from his connecting flight into Johannesburg to another SA Airways to Hong Kong then Dragon Air to Nanjing. Even his shuttle to Nanjing University is aware of his itinerary, there is no room for error.
On September 1, 2017, Oiva will become one of the two Namibians to study Marine Harbour Engineering. His classmate Martino Swarts has just checked in at Hosea Kutako International Airport, and an anxious Oiva cannot afford to miss this flight, which at this time is 30km away and separated by snail-paced traffic meandering into Klein Windhoek.
This story was first published by the Africa China Reporting, a Wits Journalism project. Please click on the following link to read the full article: China Harbour Engineering Company reshaping Walvis Bay port: A Chinese success story in Namibia
