Transnet National Ports Authority (TNPA) and Oiltanking Grindrod Calulo (OTGC), in May, signed an agreement in Port Elizabeth that will see OTGC plan, fund, construct, maintain and operate a new liquid bulk handling facility at the Port of Ngqura, in the Eastern Cape.

The facility’s concept engineering design, as well as the topographical and geotechnical survey, has been completed, and construction is due to start in the fourth quarter of this year, with commissioning planned for the third quarter of 2019.

Phase 1 will provide around 150 000 m3 of storage capacity for refined petroleum products and will replace the tanks currently in use in the Port of Port Elizabeth, which will be decommissioned and the land redeveloped.

This is in line with Port Elizabeth’s plans to clean up the terminal facility and develop the city’s commercial and tourism sectors.

Future phases will provide for an additional 550 000 m3 of storage capacity and handling.

The facility will service the oil majors, new entrants into the South African oil industry and international traders – all supporting the local shipping industry.

OTGC CEO Dirk Exalto says he prefers not to provide information on the value of the contract.

OTGC, a majority-South-African- owned Level 1 black-economic-empowerment company, is an independent bulk liquid storage provider in South Africa. Oiltanking holds a 46% share, Grindrod South Africa 30.5 %, Calulo Terminals 20.5% and the Adopt-A-School Foundation 3%.

The Ngqura facility provides a number of opportunities for the partners within the company.

For Oiltanking, it will be its first holding in a South African fuel terminal, whereas, for Calulo, being involved in all aspects of the oil supply chain, it will be its first clean products terminal.

For Grindrod, the facility provides diversification into fuel storage and handling, and aligns with its coastal tanker shipping through Unicorn Tankers.

In the region, the facility will generate employment opportunities during construction, while it will also provide permanent positions in the long term.

Oiltanking is a subsidiary of Marquard & Bahls, a Hamburg-based company that operates in the fields of energy supply, trading and logistics. It is the second-largest independent tank storage provider for petroleum products, chemicals and gases worldwide.

The company owns and operates 79 terminals in 24 countries in Europe, North and South America, the Middle East, Africa, India and Asia. Oiltanking has an overall storage capacity of 21-million cubic metres.

Grindrod is a JSE-listed shipping and logistics company.

The Calulo group is an empowerment investment partner.