A court in South Africa has upheld the award of an operating concession to ICTSI for Durban Container Terminal (DCT) Pier 2.
This ruling from the Durban High Court dismisses a legal challenge from APM Terminals that the state-owned ports group, Transnet, acted unlawfully in selecting ICTSI for a 25-year joint venture. It now allows the Philippines-based operator to take control of the busiest container facility in the country.
This terminal is critical to both the Port of Durban and South African trade, currently handling over 70% of the port’s total container business and more than 45% of total container volumes moving through the country’s ports as a whole.
APM Terminals had contested the tender process, claiming that ICTSI’s bid “relied on market capitalisation rather than balance sheet equity to satisfy solvency requirements,” thereby providing ICTSI with what the AP Moller-Maersk subsidary described as an “unfair advantage in the bidding process.”
However, in rejecting the appeal from APM Terminals the Durban High Court confirmed that it “found no irregularities” in the tendering process. The operator is now currently understood to be “reviewing the judgement” while ICTSI described the court ruling as a validation of a fair and transparent tender process.
This ruling now allows ICTSI to move forward with its planned investment of R11 billion (US$638 million) at the facility.
The court action from APM Terminals commenced in April 2024 and has effectively slowed down a much needed programme to deploy private investment and operating expertise at DC2.
