Gauteng continues to offer an ideal environment for large logistics and warehousing developments, with land that is f latter which makes construction easier and cheaper.
According to Francois Nortje, director of NT55 Investments, developers of a proposed inland port that will consist of a highway park, railway park, future park and business park in the province, when comparing the cost of land for warehousing to that available in Durban, Gauteng is much cheaper. “The land in Gauteng is also much f latter than land in Durban. It substantially reduces the cost of warehousing, especially large developments, in Gauteng compared w ith Durban.”
Nortje told Freight Newsthe cost would be even more of an issue in the future than it has been in recent years due to the economic impact of Covid-19. “We have seen rapid change in the past few months and are now operating in a very different environment. Covid-19 has brought much change for logistics companies. It is already a much more demanding market and clients’ requirements are expected to become more demanding going forward.”
According to Nortje, the proposed inland port development, dubbed Distribution Junxion Port of Gauteng, will transform the country’s rail and transport logistics landscape through its efficient supply chain, offering performance and the considerable cost savings it will create.
Situated on a f lat piece of land between the N3 off-ramp at Barry Marais Road and the Durban-Johannesburg railway line, the development with crucial multi-modal infrastructure is estimated at a potential R10 billion total. “Like a seaport, this inland port will sit on the entry and exit points for imports into and exports out of Gauteng,” explained Nortje.
“It is ideally positioned to reduce double travel, meaning goods won’t need to travel past their entry point and be transported back again.”In addition, with an inland port, capacity and efficiency are also improved in the province. “It’s much easier to do overnight deliveries to stores and fulfilment centres from Gauteng than Durban for Gauteng stores and fulfilment centres.”
This, said Nortje, was of critical importance considering that e-commerce was a growing trend that would accelerate volume growth in the future.“Also, goods are getting relatively cheaper, meaning companies must do much more volume to maintain inf lation-adjusted turnover.”This makes a cost-efficient inland port even more essential, as cost saving in a lower margin environment becomes critical.
