Durban Port developments gather momentum – The Mail & Guardian

The Port of Durban is a “construction site”, with multiple projects under way, including upgrading access roads and plans for a multi-purpose terminal, a liquid bulk terminal and a recreational waterfront.

The Port of Durban is a “construction site”, with multiple projects under way, including upgrading access roads and plans for a multi-purpose terminal, a liquid bulk terminal and a recreational waterfront.

The projects are part of the Durban Port Master Plan for the next 30 years to increase the port’s annual container handling capacity from 2.9 million to 11 million twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs), said acting portfolio director of the KwaZulu-Natal Logistics Hub Johnny Mokheseng at a media briefing on Tuesday.

He said the vehicle terminal would increase its vehicle handling capacity from 600 000 units to one million units a year to meet global demand. But the plan is to be reviewed after the transport minister last year granted a 25-year lease to Fresh Produce Terminals to continue operating in an area earmarked as part of the terminal expansion.

“That has basically meant that we need to pause and review our plans … but again we’re not going back in terms of what we want to do, which is creating additional capacity for automobiles,” Mokheseng said.

The review of existing plans could mean the iconic Ocean Terminal Building may not need to be demolished. Transnet had obtained approval for its destruction in 2022.

Acting port manager Nkumbuzi Ben-Mazwi said construction was expected to go ahead at Mnambithi Group’s R1.1 billion liquid bulk terminal at Maydon Wharf in the next 24 months.

The terminal will have the capacity to store 100 000 cubic metres of liquid bulk cargo, including imported edible oils, caustic soda and phosphoric acid, for supply for local markets and the rest of Africa. 

Transnet has leased the land to the business on a 20-year concession, which starts when the terminal begins operating.

Ben-Mazwi said Transnet had last week also issued a request for information from the private sector for the design, development and operation of a multi-purpose terminal in Maydon Wharf to handle agricultural dry bulk and other compatible cargo in the large port precinct, while another container terminal development was planned for the Point Precinct.

He said the refurbishment of Bayhead and Langeberg roads was on track while feasibility studies to address port congestion by widening the road and developing a new road connecting the port with the M4 South and the N2 freeway were under way.

Mokheseng said the project to deepen the North Quay to accommodate large new generation 350m vessels was “shovel ready” while other projects were in the feasibility study phase, including the Durban Bay Waterfront being developed with eThekwini municipality and Ithala Bank.

“There’s been some good work that is being done by the city … We’re going to be starting with the next phase together which will be the pre-feasibility study of that plan. It’s quite an exciting project,” he said.