Portnet will develop PE and Coega
if it has customers willing to pay
PORTNET IS ready to invest in both Port Elizabeth harbour and the Coega project - provided it has customers willing and able to pay.
Port operations manager for Port Elizabeth harbour, Nad Govender, believes there is lots of scope for the development of the harbour.
This follows the loss of some volume through the decision by the SA - Europe Container Service (SAECS) consortium to once again make Cape Town the first port of call for south-bound vessels from Europe. SAECS skipped Cape Town for some time due to problems at the port and made Port Elizabeth its first call instead.
Port Elizabeth harbour has the capacity to boost volumes by over 40% and is willing to invest to meet the needs of its customers, says Govender. The most recent example is the provision of land to build new cooling sheds for fruit exporters.
The company remains committed to the stalled Coega harbour as well, according to Portnet's Western region general manager, Ronnie Kingwill.
All the company wants is customers.
What we need is a vision for the development of the Port Elizabeth area, says Govender.
The existing harbour, he says, faces a number of challenges.
First is its relative distance from the industrial areas. Govender, who recently moved to Port Elizabeth from Richards Bay, says successful ports around the world are surrounded by industry, rather than commercial developments as is the case with Port Elizabeth.
The Coega port, which will be built to service an industrial zone, will overcome this problem.
Without Coega the concern is the relatively shallow 12-metre draft in the Port Elizabeth harbour - tides have to be carefully judged to bring in the existing Big Whites and the newer-generation vessels will not be able to call.
Portnet has plans to turn the existing port into a fishing and pleasure harbour in the longer term, but welcomes any other ideas.
Coega would change the way we see the Eastern Cape and will give us multiple options for the development of the Eastern Cape region.
Coega should, he says, be part of the greater vision for the development of the area.
We need to collectively put our minds together to decide where we want to go.
