Meeting planned for late this month ALAN PEAT THERE IS a potentially big barney brewing in Durban about the location of the already established city terminal in the port’s Point area. Tourism and environmental parties have raised a stink about the pollution and noise from the working terminal and the number of heavy trucks accessing it from Point Road – immediately opposite the entrance to the major tourist attraction of uShaka Marine World, and close to the massive property development scheme in the Point. It’s essentially a battle involving the city authorities, the National Ports Authority (NPA) and the businesses using the port. It was apparently originally raised last September, but efforts to solve the possible problems have so far failed – and a meeting is now planned for the end of January between all the parties. The main point made by businessmen contacted by FTW is the lateness of the complaints. The huge concrete structure of the terminal is already a fait accompli, and was originally part of the long-standing port master plan – approved some years ago by all the relevant authorities. Although there is also support for the principle of the major tourist development in the Point area, its location has added attraction because of its proximity to a working port, said executives. They also suggest that, while tourism is a big income earner for the city, Durban still depends on the port for its ultimate survival as an economic entity.
