Consortium will speed concessioning

Leonard Neill PRIVATE SECTOR involvement in the operation of Durban's Container Terminal will move up a gear following the appointment of an international consortium to fast track the process. Making the announcement in Pretoria last week, Public Enterprises Minister Jeff Radebe said a team of international experts on port operations had been appointed to assist Government in the implementation phase. "With the generous financial support of USAID and the UK's DFID, my department was able to select, through open tender, a team which will advise on the most effective mechanism for private sector involvement in port operations," he said. To page 16 From page 1 The consortium will be led by the Canadian company CPCS Transcom, a world leader in the field of port restructuring and commercialisation, with extensive experience in public-private partnerships, he said. The consortium will conduct an eight-month probe focusing on problems facing South Africa's ports, projected traffic growth and how to deal with any potential job losses. Government has accepted that its bid to speed up concessions at Durban is likely to bring it into conflict with labour unions, but is satisfied that these moves will significantly change relations. Better training and career opportunities will be opened up, says Vusi Mkhonta of the DPE's transport sector, who has been appointed to focus on port issues. The problems in the terminal have been vast and ongoing, said Richard Goode, DPE's director, restructuring of state owned enterprises. "We have to achieve satisfactory transformation objectives within a worldwide accepted policy. We cannot go ahead in any special South African way only, and that is where the appointed consortium will play a major role."