A grain of hope for Port of East London

Transnet has thrown a life-line to the port of East London with a decision to invest R20-million to refurbish the harbour’s grain elevator. Built in the 1960s, the grain elevator has been out of commission for over a year after it was closed for safety reasons. Transnet came under fire from the local business community when it announced plans to close the facility – putting some 2 000 jobs at risk, according to Bruce Spanjaard, managing director of Paramount Mills, who was quoted in the local media. Paramount Mills was established in East London in 1998 to feed off the grain elevator. Since the grain elevator was shut down, the port has still been handling grain, but through a temporary system. “For us, the most significant thing is that we like to think we have made a breakthrough with Transnet – albeit with Transnet Port Terminals,” says Border Kei Chamber of Business executive director Les Holbrook. “For a while we felt that Transnet was simply not interested in East London,” he told FTW. Repairs to the grain elevator will start in February 2011 and will take around nine months to restore the facility to a safe working state, although it will remain open throughout the repair process, says Siya Mhlaluka, terminal executive manager, Eastern Cape Terminals. It is the largest export grain facility in South Africa, and handles both imports and exports of bulk grain.