Cape Fria was discovered, along with
Cape Cross, in 1486 by the Portuguese sailor
Diogo Cão. Since the beginning of the 1980s, there have been plans to build a deep-sea port along with a railway connection near Cape Fria to connect the north of Namibia — as well as the neighboring countries of
Botswana,
Zambia,
Zimbabwe, and
Angola — to international maritime traffic. Such a project would benefit Namibia's position in intra-African trade, but it has not been pursued, particularly on account of financing and environmental issues. The construction of a harbor and a rail connection has been planned since 2011 and was confirmed in October 2014, with the government dedicating $1.8 million USD to the project. ==Sources==