Transnet National Ports Authority (TNPA) has embarked on a national roadshow that will provide both internal and external stakeholders with a glimpse of short-, medium- and long-term planning for South Africa’s nine coastal ports.

In a preamble to the Durban leg, it was stressed that port demand drivers such as volumes, shipping technology, the cost of capital and sustainability had played a role in planning. Another important factor was determining break points that would inform scenario planning and ultimately the formulation of national development strategies.

TNPA’s senior manager for capacity planning Desmond Simpson said that, in the short term, he did not expect “much change” at Richards Bay, where the plan to expand and rehabilitate the dry bulk terminal had been placed on hold.

The project would return to the table only once the increase in volumes had been verified. In the medium term, if this project went ahead, he said, TNPA would extend the finger jetty in the harbour to provide another two coal berths as well as an additional bulk liquid berth.

There were no immediate plans to construct a container terminal in Richards Bay, but, in the longer term, TNPA could develop a 22 km stretch inland from the existing port in the direction of the N2 highway and adjacent to the industrial development zone . Additional future developments included a possible additional coal facility as well as one to handle liquid petroleum gas (LPG) on the southern breakwater. This would be sufficiently far away from the local community and nearby developments and allowed for a 500 m exclusion zone.

Simpson said that Durban’s dig-out port was in its earliest stages and that various investigations were under way. He said this would provide 16 additional container berths, as well as facilities for automotive exports as it was located close to the Toyota manufacturing plant.

One critical issue under consideration was the relocation of the single-buoy mooring, as this would be located directly in the line of shipping. He suggested the possibility of doing away with this altogether or moving it past the southern breakwater and creating a “very deep water berth” at the entrance of the port.

A request for proposals (RFP) had also gone out for the construction of a cruise terminal at berth AB in Durban, which was expected to connect with the Point Waterfront development.

He said that, once the rehabilitation of berths along Maydon Wharf was complete, Durban would have seven berths for deeper and longer vessels. This would facilitate the consolidation of different types of cargo. The proposed purchase of additional land at Bayhead had been abandoned, but there were still plans to improve logistics and ease back of port congestion.

Development of Salisbury Island would provide capacity for a further 1.8-million twenty- foot equivalent units (TEUs), provided TNPA acquired all the land needed from the Department of Public Works, he added.

Turning to East London, he said it was extremely difficult to develop this port as it was not only hemmed in by the city but also had a bottom section that comprised hard granite which required blasting, raising environmental issues. Another constraint was the steep bank alongside this river port. The grain elevator which was “on its last legs” would be dismantled shortly.

From 2019 onwards, TNPA envisaged the speeding up of maritime commercial activity, which included the creation of recreational and restaurant facilities. This was in line with TNPA’s vision of creating “a people’s port concept”.
He said TNPA had also looked at a proposal to build the outer basin in the long term. However, at this stage, the costs were exorbitant and the expected volumes too low.

Simpson said that although the Port of Ngqura had been constructed to facilitate the import and beneficiation of raw materials, this had not materialised and TNPA was looking to develop areas set aside for break bulk, bulk and to handle containers, with a capacity of two-million TEUs. He said the port currently had four container berths of which two were fully operational and one was currently being equipped.

The steep bank on one side of the port and flat on the other would present significant development challenges in the future. However, because facilities handling bulk liquids, gases and chemicals did not need backup areas, it would be possible to locate these on the steeper side.

The development of the manganese facility was entering the execution phase. This was expected to handle between 22-million and 25-million tons, depending on the equipment that the operator put on the berth.

The proposed Mthombo refinery and the granting of a licence to PetroSA for a petroleum pipeline directly to Gauteng would, if they proceeded, have a minor impact on the port’s development. However, if a pipeline, was not built, additional berths would be required in both Durban and Ngqura.

Simpson said an area on the breakwater had also been created to house an LPG gas facility and an area set aside for the repairing of rigs. This was expected to grow with the facilities carrying out the work being located in the IDZ behind the port.

When it came to Port Elizabeth, Simpson said that there were plans to relocate the manganese stock pile and tank farm to Ngqura although the ramifications and impact on jobs needed to be considered. He said this would free up a large area for development into recreational facilities in line with TNPA’s ‘People Ports’ vision.

He said that TNPA had retained the option of developing the central basin alongside the port should the facility for future container handling prove too costly for develping container and rig repair facilities. This would also accommodate container traffic in the longer term. TNPA also believed that the port could handle double the number of vehicles currently moving through Port Elizabeth, reaching 450 000 units.

Proposals to develop the Port of Mossel Bay were severely restricted by encroachment of the city. Nevertheless, there were plans to construct two deep-water berths and access for the public.

Cape Town, too, was limited by extreme congestion and pressure from the city to extend the waterfront. He said the RFP for a cruise liner terminal on E berth had gone out and that TNPA was looking into the possibility of linking this with the waterfront.

Owing to the fact that fruit is being containerised, opportunities have been created to consolidate cargo on the long berth.

TNPA had to look into using these more productively. However, plans for Cape Town did include two bulk liquid berths and the increasing of container capacity.

Saldanha Bay was “highly environmentally sensitive”, but there were plans for an additional iron-ore berth and a rig repair berth. An operator had been appointed to import LPG through the single-buoy mooring and TNPA was looking at a possible land acquisition for a tank farm.

Simpson said that, as iron-ore volumes grew, TNPA would look into expanding facilities. Once iron-ore hit 85-million tons a year, Transnet would need to decide on whether to double the rail line or seek alternatives.

TNPA had been approached to look into the development of Port Nolloth for commercial purposes and would continue to do so. The jetty was being rehabi- litated to accommodate fishing vessels.