RAY SMUTS
CAPE TOWN'S inability to cope with the demand for ship repair facilities is costing Portnet dearly and Malcolm Green, Portnet's port services manager, is under no illusion as to what should happen - expand them considerably.
We turn away a vessel a week because we are unable to handle the work and every time we say 'no' the Western Cape economy loses R1 million, he says.
While some within the authority are apparently not convinced why Cape Town should have a ship repair facility, arguing in favour of a more economically deprived city such as East London, it is not a sentiment shared by Green, even though he admits we have lots of other things to play with.
Indeed, he would be happy if the port's ship repair facilities were to increase three-fold and expansion does certainly form part of the recently-completed, long-term, Development Framework for the Port of Cape Town.
I want to turn this port into a ship repair hub, he asserts. As to how much an upgraded repair facility could cost, Green comes up with a figure of R200 million which he admits is pretty much a thumbsuck figure.
As matters now stand, the building of two luxury hotels in the Victoria and Alfred Waterfront - a fully-fledged working harbour - have eroded Portnet's ship repair earnings considerably.
The four star Victoria and Alfred Hotel is adjacent to the 118-year-old Robinson drydock and the five star Cape Grace overlooks the West Quay and synchrolift alongside.
Green drily points out we were there first but says nevertheless that in the interest of good neighbourliness the facilities now shut down at day's end whereas they used to be on the go 24 hours a day.
Relocating the 161 metre-long Robinson drydock is not feasible from a cost perspective - Green holds the view it would make an ideal Olympic swimming pool - but what is clear is that complaints about the synchrolift will necessitate its removal to the vicinity of the Royal Cape Yacht Club. This may in turn relocate to the E-berth area in Duncan Dock - although this is still the subject of much conjecture.
Not only are we receiving complaints about noise and dust but claims are coming in fast and furious from motorists whose cars have synchrolift spray paint on their vehicles. (This writer was also a victim but did not lay a claim!)
Turning to Cape Town's vexing wind problem, Green disclosed that a pre-feasibility study into building a R100 million wind (deflection) wall is complete and that the Dutch-appointed consultants have been given the go-ahead to proceed with a full feasibility.
There exists a co-operative transport forum between the Dutch and South African governments and the idea is to work in collaboration in respect of upgrading facilities and so on. They have identified certain key projects to be managed together and the wind wall is one of them so it is very much on the South African government's agenda at the moment.
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