Name and Location
Tambo-Springs inland port project, Gauteng, South Africa.

Client
Transnet.

Project Description
Transnet has issued a request for proposals inviting private logistics companies to design, build, operate and maintain and eventually hand over an inland container terminal, earmarked for Tambo-Springs, in eastern Gauteng.

The project has been earmarked for development as a public-private partnership (PPP).

The terminal will have an initial capacity of 144 000 twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs) a year, with an option to increase its capacity to 560 000 TEUs.

The project will include the construction of terminal infrastructure, including an arrival and departure yard for cargo trains, and the installation of terminal equipment. It will include a stacking area, warehousing space, a distribution centre and inland reefer facilities.

Tambo-Springs is one of three megaterminals being proposed for Gauteng over the next 20 years.

Value
No capital investment figure has yet been provided. However, South Africa’s National Infrastructure Plan indicates that the project, designated as a Strategic Integrated Project 2 development, could involve an investment of about R6.5-billion.

Duration
The deadline for submissions is September 30, 2016, with Transnet expected to award the contract for the project in the last quarter of the company’s financial year, which ends on March 31, 2017.

Latest Developments
A briefing session has been held for potential bidders for the proposed inland Tambo Springs container terminal .

Transnet Freight Rail, a subsidiary of Transnet, will be responsible for the operation of the yard, but the chosen operator will be responsible for loading and offloading of containers and marketing of the facility.

Transnet issued a request for proposals (RFP) in June.

Transnet reports that it has secured 35 ha to accommodate the PPP project, which has been designed to handle 50-wagon trains initially, increasing to 75-wagon train as demand increases.

However, it has subsequently been reported that the project faces serious zoning constraints. Freight Trading Weekly has quoted property practitioners and lawyers who have suggested that building plans cannot be approved on the site, owing to an absence of various town-planning approvals, and conflicts with infrastructure legislation.

In addition, they point out that portions of the land have already been designated for the PWV 13/15 roadway, which will make township approval legally fraught.

However, in response to an enquiry, Transnet has insisted that all the necessary legal and administrative processes and development approvals are in place, including:
• approval of the master plan for the ‘Tambo Springs Next-Generation Logistics Gateway Development’ by relevant government departments and parastatals.
• formal incorporation of the land into the Ekurhuleni spatial planning.
• completion of the environmental–impact assessment processes, leading to the formal issuance of a positive record of decision required for the rezoning.
• formal rezoning approval from all relevant authorities, allowing for the different land uses planned in the development, including an intermodal rail terminal.
• implementation of the formal processes required for the realignment of the planned routing of the potential future PWV 13/15 road alignment to allow for the development to occur.
• agreement with Ekurhuleni municipality to allow the required construction of bulk and internal civil and electrical services for the development, including the intermodal rail terminal site.
• a framework agreement between Transnet and the master developer, the Tambo Springs Development Company, in respect of the development of an operated rail terminal.

Transnet has, therefore, assured that the site has indeed been rezoned and that the right to use the land for the purpose of an inland terminal has been secured. “We have also secured special rights for the remainder of the land. These allow for the land to be used for various purposes, including warehousing, manufacturing, transport and industrial purposes,” the group has said.

The realignment of the PWV 13 road, meanwhile, is being addressed as part of the overall town planning and/or rezoning approval processes. “The realignment of PWV 13 is under way. We have been in discussion with the Gauteng Department of Transport since 2013. The department has outlined all the requirements for the realignment and we are complying with these.”

The briefing session and site visit for potential bidders took place on July 6, with the bid submission deadline set for September 30. The bid documentation fee is R4 000.

Key Contracts and Suppliers
None stated.

On Budget and on Time?
Too early to state.

Contact Details for Project Information
Transnet, Viwe Tlaleane, tel +27 11 308 2384 or email view.tlaleane@transnet.net.