Eastern Cape transport costs to escalate

Transport costs between Port Elizabeth and East London are set to soar over the next few months due to the closure of both the N2 and R72 links between the two centres following heavy flooding in the area. With effectively no operational rail link between the two, cargo owners either have to pay for a several-hundred kilometre road detour on the N10 via Colesburg, or make use of a coastal feeder service operated by Safmarine, Maersk MOL. The road costs could amount to R3 500 a container, it is understood.