Proposed plans by Transnet National Ports Authority (TNPA) to ease congestion at the Durban Container Terminal (DCT) have ignited heated debate.
TNPA plans to deepen, widen and lengthen Pier 2 berths. It also plans to reclaim the land between Pier 1 and the Salisbury Island naval base, which will see terminal capacity increasing to around 5.2 million TEUs per year.
An analysis by Stellenbosch University found a shortfall between the equivalent container stacking yard capacity and the achievable container throughput. The University suggested moving to a new stacking system using rubber-tyred gantry cranes instead of straddle carriers and developing a dry port either at the Bayhead Road site or at the old Durban airport.
Currently an average 5000 trucks service the port per day. Questions have been raised around how the port authority plans to address the congestion outside the port when volume capacity is doubled along with the number of trucks.
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