Dube Cargo Terminal achieved 14% growth in cargo throughput during the last quarter of the 2017/2018 financial year and it’s expecting more of the same for the year ahead on the back of proposed additional investment into Dube TradePort. The cargo terminal currently provides 100 000 tonnes per annum capacity. “Last year Dube TradePort signed in excess of R1.7 billion worth of investment with an additional R1.3 billion worth of private sector investment expected to flow into this special economic zone during this financial year,” said the KwaZulu Natal MEC for Economic Development and Tourism, Sihle Zikalala, in his provincial budget speech last month. Following the launch of the thrice-weekly British Airways flights between Durban’s King Shaka International Airport and Heathrow in London, he said the provincial government’s focus was now on attracting new flight routes to Germany and India to provide additional capacity to the province’s key trade partners. Hamish Erskine, CEO of Dube TradePort Corporation, said that by investing in transport infrastructure, South Africa was creating efficiencies in its logistics and supply chains that would improve the overall competitiveness of doing business within its borders. “King Shaka International Airport and its 3.7-kilometre runway are at the heart of Dube TradePort which is earmarked for the development of manufacturing facilities and other support services that will be rolled out in phases over the next 50 years,” he said. According to Erskine, new trade policies in Africa are set to address the challenge posed by small and fragmented markets by promoting intra-African trade, which will strengthen regional cooperation. This will open new markets with over 1 billion people and a combined gross domestic product (GDP) of US$2.6 trillion. “Airfreight will be one of the means by which those 1 billion will be able to receive their goods, as air connectivity creates quick and efficient corridors between countries.” He said that new international and regional air routes opened up new opportunities across a full spectrum of sectors including business and commercial, and cargo and manufacturing. Erskine added that the Port of Durban, as the largest and busiest in southern Africa, made it an ideal post to serve the continent through highly efficient airfreight. “Upon completion, Dube TradePort will be a fully fledged airfreight and passenger hub surrounded by industrial and agricultural developments – the continent’s only precinct combining an international airport, a dedicated cargo terminal, warehousing, agriculture, as well as commercial office and retail realestate,” he said.
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The focus is on attracting new routes to Germany and India. – Sihle Zikhalala
