BPO eyes terminals in east and west Africa

KEVIN MAYHEW AS THE only South African company with stevedoring representation at all southern Africa’s major ports, Bidfreight Port Operations (BPO) is well placed to bid for contracts to run terminals and stevedoring at developing African ports. BPO is the renamed company that absorbed the operations of well established names in the industry, Rennies Cargo Terminals and South African Stevedores, under one clearly identifiable umbrella earlier this year. Presently it has plans to expand into port operations elsewhere in east and west Africa, including taking part in the concession process at Lagos in Nigeria and Port of Toamasina in Madagascar, according to BPO’s managing director, Jannie Roux. He said the company benchmarked itself against world best practices with adjustments to accommodate local conditions using specialist staff in the industry. “Each port operation has a multitude of skills and equipment designed to handle any type of loading or discharge - from normal breakbulk cargo to containers, ro-ro vessels, bulk handling appliances and dedicated terminals,” he explained. The company has long term relationships with blue chip clients, operating specific facilities for some of them. These include the Forest Products Terminal at Maydon Wharf offering the industry a range of integrated port services. The terminal is an integral part of the Forest Products international logistics chain, handling over 600 000 tons per annum through its 60 000m2 facilities. Its Ensimbini Terminals is a 50/50 joint venture with Ispat Iscor. The facility handles the majority of Ispat Iscor steel exports through Durban using a totally integrated “one-stop” service from receipt of cargo at the terminal to stowage on board the vessel. The terminal operates a quayside facility of 36 000m2 at Maydon Wharf berth 6 at Port of Durban that has the ability to feed ten dedicated stevedoring gangs simultaneously. Ensimbini Terminals also enjoys priority-berthing rights over the adjacent berths. It has container terminals with a total of 10 000m2 which handle over 35 000 containers per annum at a number of ports.