Alan Peat ONLY PRESSURE on government to by-pass Transnet’s bureaucratic structure is likely to see the desperately needed ship-to-shore gantry cranes for the Durban container terminal in place as planned in 2004. That feeling has been expressed in the forwarding community after news was leaked from the Durban port liaison committee (DPLC) that the commissioning deadline had already been extended to April 2004. An FTW “Deep Throat” revealed that the contract for these cranes - coming from Italy - had not yet been signed. This first delay was a result of the sellers insisting that the cranes should be purchased “as is” from the quay. SA Port Operations (Sapo), however, had as its original plan that a single party would be responsible for a door-to-door project cargo move, FTW was told - including the dismantling and transport to their Durban destination. The meeting was told, according to our source, that this had apparently been solved with the supplier offering to supply “turn-key”. However, it is only when the entire costs are known and party liability agreed, that the contract can be finalised - but the quotes for transportation and other costs have yet to arrive, although Deep Throat indicated that they were due within days. But this delay means that the necessary civil work has not yet started - and won’t until the contracts are signed and sealed. The fear that was expressed was that the actual final commissioned cost was still an unknown factor. “It is therefore possible that there could be a cost overrun against the approved budget.” That is where the call for government to avoid Transnet’s red-tape approach to budgetary approval arose, with worries that it would cause further delays.
