Durban port upgrade and expansion project, South Africa

6th November 2015

By: Sheila Barradas

Creamer Media Research Coordinator & Senior Deputy Editor

  

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Name and Location
Durban port upgrade and expansion project, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa.

Client
The Transnet National Ports Authority (TNPA) and Transnet Port Terminals (TPT), divisions of freight logistics company Transnet.

Project Description
The Durban Container Terminal (DCT) is the biggest and busiest in the southern hemisphere and currently handles 64% of the country’s seaborne container traffic.

Transnet is implementing an ambitious expansion project at the Durban port and its container terminals, comprising several individual work packages, to increase the DCT’s container-handling capacity.

The main projects include the expansion of the DCT Pier 1, which will increase the capacity of the terminal to 1.2-million TEUs by 2016/17.

In addition, the North quay at DCT Pier 2 will be extended to increase capacity to 3.3-million TEUs by 2017/18.

Container capacity is also being created at other terminals, such as the Durban Ro-Ro and Maydon Wharf terminals, through the acquisition of new equipment, including mobile cranes and various infrastructure upgrades.

Transnet is further proposing the phased development of a new dig-out port on the old Durban International Airport (DIA) site, among other projects.

Value
The project forms part of an initial five-year R110.5-billion capital expenditure programme until 2015/16 and the group’s larger R312.2-billion (from R307.5-billion) seven-year Market Demand Strategy (MDS) until 2018/19.

However, funding for the new port at the DIA is not included in the strategy.

Transnet has indicated that it is in the final stages of appointing a transaction adviser and is considering various funding options and models for private-sector participation in the project.

Duration
Ongoing.

Latest Developments
TNPA is reconstructing the quay walls at Maydon Wharf – the largest break bulk and dry bulk handling precinct in the Port of Durban covering 120 ha of port land.

The project, valued at R1.6 billion, is being overseen by Transnet Capital Projects. The main contractor is Stefanutti Stocks AXSYS Joint Venture.

The Maydon Wharf infrastructure upgrade forms an integral part of Transnet’s MDS, which aims to enable the effective, efficient and economic functioning of an integrated port system to promote economic growth.

It involves the reconstruction and deepening of six of the 15 berths in this precinct. Once completed, the berths will have a draught of 14.5 m, enabling them to handle vessels with draughts up to 13 m; however, the Maydon Wharf entrance channel will still need to be deepened thereafter to enable these vessels to sail in fully laden.

The quay walls in the precinct were originally designed to handle vessels of about 20 000 deadweight tons (DWT), compared with the 55 000 DWT vessels now calling to the port.  Bigger vessels currently call mainly half-laden, owing to the current draught and width restrictions.

Berths 1 to 2 and 13 to14 are currently under construction, following the reconstruction of Berth 12, which was completed in November 2012.  Berths 3 to 4 will be under construction in early 2016.

The work involves demolition of paving, rail-track work and services, the construction of new steel sheet-piled quay walls, the demolition of existing piled crane beams, the extraction of timber, concrete piles and a limited number of steel sheet piles, as well as the removal of the existing quay wall and capping beams.

Work also includes driving of inclined grouted steel anchor piles (being used in South Africa for the first time), backfilling behind the quay walls, construction of new reinforced-concrete capping beams, the supply and installation of bollards, fenders, ladders and quay services, the construction of railway tracks, layer works and paving, the dredging of material adjacent to the berths and construction of rock scour protection.

The main challenges have been balancing operations and the project, including site access, executing work around the existing shiploader foundations and conveyor, as well as obstructions and incorrect as built information supplied.

The project team has also had to contend with strong winds and wakes formed by tugs operating in the precinct, affecting floating equipment used for construction.

As a result, the team has implemented night and weekend shifts, and mobilised additional plants to ensure that the project remains on track.

Achievements to date include a satisfactory audit report, the successful pull-out test on the anchor pile system and the completion of all piling and the new cope on Berth 1. 

A record 4 500 t of steel was offloaded, transported and stacked during a continuous 84-hour operation.

Key Contracts and Suppliers
Protekon Consulting & Construction; CPS; IMPSA-Jikelele joint venture (JV); Kalmar African National Engineering, or ANE, JV; Hydroflow and Liebherr Cranes (Germany); Grinaker-LTA, Interbeton and Bafokeng Bateman Services (Bafokeng Civil Works and Bateman Materials Handling) JV; DSE and Dorbyl (subcontractors steelwork fabrication); La Spezia Container Terminal, Italy (three Liebherr cranes); Kalmar (straddle carriers); DSE (manufacture of structural components and the erection and installation of mechanical and electrical work); Protekon (planning and designing the infrastructure for the installation of the Liebherr cranes at the south terminal); Protekon Construction (two new berths for Island View terminal); Dura Piling (piling contract – Island View); Basil Read (main contractor – Pier 1, civil and paving works – DCT); Chryso South Africa (concrete products – hard standing area, Pier 1); Lafarge Readymix (design and supply of concrete – hard standing area, Pier 1); Natal Portland Cement, or NPC (cement – Pier 1); Kalmar Industries (30 straddle carriers); TBA (review, analysis and simulation of DCT’s container-handling operations); Sarens Group (crawler crane); the Japan Bank for International Cooperation (loan finance); Shanghai Zhenhua Port Machinery Company (rail-mounted gantry cranes); Shanghai Zhenhua Heavy Industries Co, or  ZPMC (design, manufacture, delivery and commissioning of cranes); Dredging International and Group Five (port-widening project); C3 Shared Services (codesign of security solution at Pier 1); Mott MacDonald, in JV with Hatch and Goba (widening of Durban harbour entrance and construction of Pier 1 container terminal); Blue IQ (financial coordinator for proposed container terminal at the old DIA site); Liebherr (design, fabrication, delivery, erection, testing and commissioning of the cranes); and Stefanutti Stocks AXSYS Joint Venture (Mayden Wharf – main contractor).

On Budget and on Time?
The project is on schedule and within budget.

Contact Details for Project Information
ANE Durban head office, tel +27 31 579 3301, fax +27 31 579 3323 or email aned@mweb.co.za.
Basil Read, tel +27 11 418 6375 or fax +27 11 418 6334.
Bateman, tel +27 11 899 9111 or email pgm@batemanbv.com.
Chryso South Africa, tel +27 11 395 9700 or fax +27 11 397 6644.
Dorbyl, tel +27 41 408 6009, fax +27 41 408 6035 or email dorbyl@guestroauto.com.
Dredging International, tel +32 3 250 52 11, fax +32 3 250 56 50 or email dredging@dredging.com.
DSE, tel +27 11 871 4111 or fax +27 11 871 4141.
Grinaker-LTA, tel +27 11 578 6000, fax +27 11 578 6161 or email enquiry@grinaker-lta.co.za.
Group Five, tel +27 11 806 0111, fax +27 11 803 5520 or email info@g5.co.za.
Kalmar Industries, tel +27 31 327 1800 or fax +27 31 327 1811.
Lafarge Readymix, tel +27 31 275 7400.
NPC, tel +27 31 450 4411 or fax +27 31 451 9010.
Sarens Group, Hendrik Sarens, tel +32 52 319 397 or email hendrik.sarens@sarens.com.
Transnet Port Terminals, tel + 27 31 308 8000 or fax +27 31 308 8084.
ZPMC, tel + 86 21 58396666, fax +86 21 58399555 or email mail@zpmc.com.

Edited by Creamer Media Reporter

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