East London to get R2.7bn upgrade

Intense lobbying by business, the Buffalo City Metro and the provincial government has seen Transnet agreeing to invest in the port of East London. Transnet group chief executive Brian Molefe told journalists at a briefing in Port Elizabeth recently that the capacity of the East London ro-ro terminal would be increased, plans for the upgrading of the grain silo would go ahead, the entrance to the port would be widened, and that Transnet Port Terminals (TPT) would be purchasing two mobile gantries. The rail link from Queenstown to the port would be upgraded to cater for coal exports. The total budget for the upgrades is R2.7 billion. Pressure has been put on Transnet by local business and political leaders to invest in the port, which has become marginalised. Molefe said “the Eastern Cape provincial government has been very proactive in engaging with us”. Most seaborne East London traffic now travels through Port Elizabeth or Ngqura, with hundreds of trucks carrying loads by road over the 300 kilometres between the two cities. At present only geared vessels can be accommodated in the port because it has no shore to ship gantries. INSERT ‘Pressure has been put on Transnet by local business and political leaders to invest in the port, which has become marginalised.’