Multi-Billion Durban Port Expansion on Schedule at transnet National Ports Authority (TNPA), one of five operating divisions of Transnet SOC Ltd has embarked on the upgrade and expansion of the Durban Port in the KwaZulu-Natal Province, South Africa.
The Durban Container Terminal (DCT) is the biggest and busiest in the Southern Hemisphere and currently handles 64 percent of the country’s seaborne container traffic. Each year, more than 4000 commercial; vessels call at Durban and according to forecasts, container traffic is growing at 8 percent a year.
The current yearly volume of container trade through Durban is 2.69 million 20 foot equivalent units (TEU) of cargo, which is expected to grow to between nine million and 12 million TEU by 2040.
The new port situated in the Prospection/ Isipingo industrial area will consist of sixteen berth container terminal, which forms part of the initial five-year R110.5 billion capital expenditure programme until 2015/16 and the group’s larger R300 billion seven year Market Demand Strategy (MDS) until 2018/19.
The scope of the ambitious multi-billion expansion project will include the expansion of the Durban port and its container terminals, comprising of several individual work packages, aimed at increasing the DCT’s container handling capacity.
In addition, the main projects entail the expansion of the DCT Pier 1, which is set to increase the capacity of the terminal from 700 00 twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs) to 820 000 TEUs by 2013 and eventually to 1.2 million TEUs in 2016/17.
The North quay at DCT Pier 2 extension will result in the increase of the capacity from 2.1 million TEUs in 2011/12 to 2.5 million TEUs by 2013/14 and to 3.3 million TEUs by 2017/18.
Other terminals such as the Durban Ro-Ro and Maydon Wharf terminals will see the creation of the container capacity, through the acquisition of new equipment, including mobile cranes and various infrastructure upgrades.
The project to complete will require enormous resources in materials, plant and personnel. The Department of Public Works has estimated that the project would create approximately 64 000 construction jobs and 28 000 operational jobs. The project has created joint ventures by major construction and civil engineering companies and this set to filter down and the SMMEs involved in the construction industry will be drawn in to complete small sections of the project.
In addition, 70 million cubic metres of material is to be dredged, 3.5 million tonnes of rock to be brought in, while 2.5 million cubic metres of cement will be utilised, 52 000 tonnes of reinforcing steel to be used and 14. 5 million cubic metres of earth works.
