State-owned Transnet National Ports Authority (TNPA) has appointed the Coega Development Corporation (CDC) as an implementation agent for a construction programme to ensure the Ngqura liquid bulk terminal is operational before the Port of Port Elizabeth liquid bulk facility is closed on December 31, 2021.

In November 2020, the successful bidder chosen to build, operate and transfer the Port of Ngqura liquid bulk facility communicated its decision to discontinue the construction project, as it had not found a commercially viable business case for the proposed terminal.

The decision posed the risk of significant delays in the construction of the Ngqura facility, to which it is planned the Port Elizabeth liquid bulk operation will relocate.

Further, delays in the readiness of the Ngqura facility would result in the road haulage of the liquid bulk products from port import facilities in East London and Mossel Bay as an alternative supply solution, which is not sustainable owing to the risk of road infrastructure deterioration, as well as safety, health and environmental risks.

"The current location of the Port Elizabeth Tank Farm forms part of phase 2 of the waterfront development in the Nelson Mandela Bay municipality, which will contribute towards the facilitation of economic transformation through job creation and enhance the tourism profile of the city," TNPA said in a March 16 statement.

The CDC is currently responsible for the implementation of the planning, design and construction of similar tanks at the Coega Special Economic Zone to create a liquid bulk storage solution for a current Port of Port Elizabeth customer impacted by the pending closure of the liquid bulk facility.

Given the TNPA’s urgency for the delivery of tank solutions at the Port of Ngqura, the progress made by CDC through this assignment positions it as the best public entity to assist TNPA, the ports authority stated.

The agreement with the CDC will see TNPA also receive technical support, delivery services and systems for the overall delivery of port infrastructure on an assignment-by-assignment basis.

The agreement is for two years and is expected to allow TNPA to rebuild its internal capacity, and to ensure that future projects of this nature can be delivered by TNPA as the authority, in accordance with the provisions of the Ports Act.