All systems go for Durban Pier 1 expansion

It’s all systems go for the upgrading and expansion of the Pier 1 container terminal at the Port of Durban, said Vishaal Lutchman, deputy chief engineer for the Transnet National Ports Authority. Speaking at the annual South African Association of Freight Forwarders (Saaff) conference in Ekurhuleni recently, Lutchman said pre-feasibility studies for the deepening of the berths as well as expansion of the terminal had been completed. “We expect to start designing the deepened berths in July, while environmental designs are under way. These will take at least 18 months to complete with construction scheduled to start in some two and a half years’ time.” He said it would take about three years to complete the entire project which will see the port able to berth a 9000-TEU vessel within the next five years. Lutchman said much planning was going into the project to ensure no hold-ups at the container terminal during the construction phases. “We have a demand of about 1.8 million TEUs per annum at the moment with a capacity of about 2.3 million. We are positive that we will be able to complete this project without seeing operations affected in any way.” He said new cranes had also been ordered for the terminals that were set to be delivered within the next few months. “We are committed to pushing up to be able to handle at least 3 million boxes a year.”