RAY SMUTS
WHETHER Cape Town container terminal follows its Durban counterpart on the concessioning route is still a moot point, but what is clear is that original estimates of the terminal extension cost are way off line... and growing by the day.
Last year port planning manager Billy Cilliers estimated the cost of the project at R400 million. It will involve the extension of the 200-metre wide container terminal by a further 300 metres, thereby trebling annual stacking capacity from the current 535 000TEU to 1,6 million TEU.
However, NPA port manager Sanjay Govan says costs have since “climbed considerably” and would likely be more in the region of R500 to R600 million.
“Concessioning is out of our hands; that is the Government’s decision. But if Cape Town becomes the second terminal for concessioning we could exercise the option that the concessionaire takes responsibility for the cost of the expansion, whereas as things now stand we would be responsible for that cost.
“If we were no longer responsible for the cost we would obviously have to give the concessionaire a longer lease to get the necessary return on investment.”
The Cape Town City Council recently reverted back to NPA with some issues that need addressing, notably sand erosion that the project might cause in the Milnerton and Blaauberg areas.
“The residents associations are willing to give us the green light to go ahead but would like us to put some sort of funding into a trust to cater for that (erosion) eventuality, but we are looking at other options like insurance - something
they can feel comfortable with.”
Govan says if all goes well on
the environmental issues it might be possible to start with detailed design in the second half of this year and call for construction to begin in early 2005.
Expansion costs escalate
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