East London diversifies in wake of automotive boom

EAST LONDON harbour throbs when the ro-ro vessels berth. Their turnaround time is short. They stay little more than a few hours. But at times there are as many as three calling in a single day.
What they represent is probably the most amazing tale of port rejuvenation anywhere on the African continent. It was a mere two years ago that the harbour was lifeless with few vessels calling, and often a week would pass without any activity in South Africa's only river facility.
The automotive industry sparked the revival, and once the four-level car terminal was opened on the West Bank, new life was pumped into the ailing harbour. Along with it has come a rejuvenation of the port authority's marketing team, which has spread its activities nationwide with great success.
It isn't only motor cars that are moving through the port in volume these days, says spokesman Terry Taylor, although the vehicle shipments in and out of East London represent its major export and import operations.
Bulk cargo in the form of timber and maize is now being exported as is livestock, with some 1000 heads of cattle moving to Mauritius every month.
Huge log piles clutter the West Bank area behind the car terminal, waiting to be loaded. The grain elevator, for many years little more than a dormant statue on the East Bank, has been very active in the past year.
Containers, both for built up vehicles and automotive parts, pack the existing container terminal to the extent that the South African government is currently examining the possibility of either extending it or constructing a new terminal on West Bank open ground.
But the focus of interest at all times is the motor vehicle movements in and out of the harbour. Taylor says at certain times two vehicles a minute are loaded, and the port is about to enter what he terms Ôextremely exciting times with more to come.'
There is, he says, a strong possibility that the four-level terminal, which is owned by the National Ports Authority and leased to the Port Operations division, will be doubled to eight levels in the
near future.
"This is part of our long-term framework for the East London port," he says. "The facility currently has 2 800 parking bays and the proposed extension would increase this number to 7 000. We are on course to make the port of East London the motor vehicle hub of the country."
The NPA, says Taylor, is in constant discussion with other motor manufacturers to attract them as additional tenants to the terminal. Some, he says, have shown great interest, and the current Spoornet investigations into the upgrading of the rail line between the city and Gauteng is encouraging greater interest in many sectors of the manufacturing industries.
The port has also become a regular transhipment hub on the South American-Asia and Australia routes, while the Industrial Development Zone (IDZ) will further increase activity in the port, says Taylor.