Ray Smuts THE LONG overdue project to extend the Cape Town container terminal is on track, but the projected R400 million development could conceivably cost a lot more than originally envisaged. It will certainly not cost any less. As the NPA manager planning and development Billy Cilliers makes clear, final approval will be determined by the Department of Environmental Affairs & Tourism which is responsible for coming up with the Record of Decision. Even so, he concedes the “pure, straight development cost” of R400 million could be considerably higher, but he dismisses the likelihood that cost could scupper the entire development. It aims to increase box capacity from the currrent 535 000 TEU to about 1,6 million TEU per annum; good for the next 19 or so years. Cilliers says certain ad hoc developments that could come into play would increase stacking capacity to a maximum of some 766 000 TEU by 2007 but nothing further beyond that date. The Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) into the extension is almost complete and will be open to public scrutiny early this month (November).
