South African State-owned rail, port and pipeline company Transnet still plans to start construction on Phase 1 of the Durban Dig-Out Port (DDOP) in mid-2016, says Transnet DDOP programme director Marc Descoins.

The company plans to have this phase completed by 2020.

“The first phase involves the construction of the first container terminal at the DDOP and necessitates the construction of a breakwater and entry channel to the port, as well as the port basin, quay walls and superstructure for the container terminal,” Descoins says, adding that supporting road and rail infrastructure would also need to be built.

Initial planning estimates are that the first container terminal will provide capacity for about two-million twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs), he adds.

While the process, from concept design to construction, of the first phase of the port is expected to take eight years, it is envisaged that it will take about 30 years to develop the port, with the completion of all phases expected in 2040, says Descoins.

The proposed DDOP aims to provide increased capacity for the Durban Container Terminal at the current Durban port, which is the leading multicargo port in the Southern African Development Community region and the leading gateway for trade in the southern hemisphere. The port is also an important gateway for trade in the Far East, Europe and the US, as well as for regional trade in East and West Africa, he notes.

The main cargoes are containers, cars, bulk and break bulk, with a total yearly cargo volume of 70-million tons, Descoins says, adding that Durban handled 2.7- million TEUs from 2012 to 2013.

“We expect this to grow to between nine-million and twelve-million TEUs by 2040,” he says, but notes that Transnet has reconfirmed its 2012 position that the current port will run out of capacity if no further developments or expansions are implemented.

Last year, Descoins told Engineering News that, while Durban routinely handled ships of 4 000 TEUs to 5 000 TEUs, estimates were that vessels carrying 10 000 TEUs to 12 000 TEUs would deliver cargo at the Durban port in future, which would necessitate higher peaks in opera- tional performance.

“We have to provide capacity ahead of demand,” stresses Descoins, adding that, if Transnet does not provide capacity, it would have detrimental effects on the economy.

The DDOP will be developed in several phases at a cost of R75-billion to R100-billion in real terms.

Transnet has acquired 641 ha of the about 800 ha needed through its acquisition of the old Durban International Airport, which is located 11 km from the existing port, for R1.85-billion from Airports Company South Africa in 2012. Part of this land is currently used by small-scale farmers, who have leased the land since the 1980s.

Transnet is in commercial transaction negotiations to acquire 31 additional industrial and commercial properties, owned variously by private owners as well as the Department of Public Works and the eThekwini municipality, which are all within the proposed boundaries of the DDOP.

However, Descoins says Transnet envisions that most of the remaining properties will be available for potential construction activities towards the end of 2016.

The location of the future port entrance channel will necessitate the relocation of the single-buoy mooring (SBM), operated and managed by Southern Africa’s largest crude oil refinery, Sapref, and the construction of a new crude-oil delivery pipeline, says Descoins.

The Sapref SBM, which serves as the link between tankers and shore facilities for the loading and offloading of crude oil, and through which 75% of South Africa’s crude oil is being imported, is located where the DDOP’s breakwater channel is to be developed.

Studies by Transnet are still being undertaken to determine possible locations for the new SBM site and the route of the pipeline, but the SBM will be relocated either to the south or to the north of the current site, Descoins says.
“The DDOP programme team is aware of the strategic importance of the SBM to South Africa’s crude-oil imports and security of supply will be a key con- sideration in planning the relocation of the SBM,” he adds.

Based on recently updated research conducted as part of the DDOP studies currently under way, Descoins says, Transnet believes the project will directly and indirectly generate about 60 000 jobs and will impact on South Africa’s gross domestic product by an average of R14-billion a year for the first 30 years.

The DDOP will essentially be a con- tainer port, with 16 container berths to handle a capacity of between eight- million TEUs to ten-million TEUs, Descoins notes, adding that Transnet plans to create two berths, with a capacity of 500 000 car-equivalent units a year for the automotive sector. Other capacity features will include a facility for liquid bulk, such as fuel.

Descoins stresses Transnet’s focus on green port principles, as it aims to incorporate green lung areas at the port as well as facilities to integrate the community into the port.

Further, plans for the port also include emission control, waste and water manage- ment principles and the use of renewable energies to reduce its carbon footprint.

The biggest challenges in constructing the DDOP include obtaining environmental-impact assessment approval, securing funds and reducing stakeholder resistance, says Descoins.

The concept design phase, which was concluded last year, included biodiversity investigations at the dig-out site, assessments of contamination levels such as hydrocarbon and chromium and key stake-holder engagements. These investigations indicated that three design options, without fatal flaws, were viable for the DDOP.

Hydrocarbon contamination studies also indicated that contamination levels at the site are low, while key stakeholder engagements indicated that communities are concerned about the perpetuation of traffic and congestion in the South Durban basin, the impact on surrounding biodiversity, as well as the social impact and opportunities for local employment, says Descoins.

One of Transnet’s aims is to start projects in the local communities that will focus on notifying people to apply for jobs during the construction and operational phase of the DDOP over the next two years, he points out.

“But is important to reiterate that the prefeasibility stage is still a planning phase where people will have the opportunity to interact with and influence the programme plans,” he concludes.