East London ups productivity, reduces costs

THE PORT of East London continues to attract investment, with the harbour having one of its most successful years on record. Volumes and productivity are up while costs are down, says port manager Jacqueline Brown. Earlier this year, East London was chosen by the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (Nimasa) as its South African host port while it investigated improving productivity and building internal and external customer care levels. This was the second time Nimasa had chosen to base itself in East London to study best practice models. Investments in the East London facilities include increasing the automotive handling capacity by 1 000 parking bays adjacent to the car terminal parkade. This project is on track and is scheduled for completion later this year. Currently, the Port of East London is capable of handling in excess of 100 000 vehicles a year, with a loading and offloading rate of 115 cars an hour. “Although the majority of container traffic and Fully Built Units (FBUs) service the automotive and manufacturing industries, the port handled a variety of other cargo, including cement and timber for the construction industry, grain products and cattle in the agricultural industry, ship repair, cruise liner tourism and scrap metals,” says Brown. She says the port is embracing the challenge of transforming itself to meet changing needs. “To remain competitive, and to bring about sustainable growth, the port has embarked on a long-term strategy of developing new markets and bringing about sustainable operational diversity.” It expects to get busier, with the 76 000 ton grain elevator predicted to handle substantial volumes of maize during the 2008/9 maize export programme. In addition, all petroleum products for the region are imported through East London.