AFRICA

Transnet invests for the future

19 years ago

South Africas port controller Transnet has been pumping investment into a wide range of projects. Port Elizabeth, which can nowadays handle up to 500,000 teu annually, will soon be able to count on additional capacity at the neighbouring port of Ngqura, which serves the surrounding Coega industrial complex.

Port Strategy: Ngqura, once fully operational, will take the pressure off Port Elizabeth

“Ngqura, once fully operational, will have a capacity of around 2m teu and will definitely take some volume from Durban,” says Solly Letsoalo, chief operating officer of Transnet Port terminals. Oscar Borchards, who heads up container handling at Cape Town, reports that a three-phase programme is being implemented to boost capacity from 740,000 teu to 1.4m teu over the next five years. However, he concedes that this master plan has “taken years” to bring to fruition.

Initially, the Ben Schoeman Basin will be dredged from 10 metres to 15.5 metres to enable the port to handle significantly larger vessels. Secondly, the quay at the container terminal will be totally refurbished and larger gantry cranes introduced. Finally, the entire terminal will be reconfigured to increase efficiencies. This will also involve converting the yard from straddle carrier to rubber-tyred gantry crane operation to enable higher stacking and hence greater capacity to be realised.