TNPA CEO Tau Morwe
Photo by: Duane Daws
State-owned Transnet has awarded a R760-million contract to a joint venture comprising Stefanutti Stocks and Axsys for the reconstruction of the steel sheet pile quay walls at Maydon Wharf, in Durban.
The contract was signed by Transnet Capital Projects on behalf of Transnet National Ports Authority (TNPA).
Maydon Wharf is the largest break-bulk and dry-bulk handling precinct in the Transnet ports system and has been developed in phases since the early twentieth century. It covers 120 ha and includes 15 berths that are collectively able to handle over seven-million tons of cargo yearly.
The reconstruction and deepening of berths 1 to 4, as well as 13 and 14 would start in May and was scheduled for completion by December 2016.
The contract formed part of the project’s second phase, with the first phase having started in July 2011 with the reconstruction of berth 12.
The project was initiated following a 2007 feasibility study, which showed that the 60-year-old steel sheet pile quays were failing.
TNPA CEO Tau Morwe indicated that construction had been planned in such a way as to minimise disruptions and congestion, with only four berths to be out of commission at any one time.