Long-term goal is 95 berths for Richards Bay

IT'S THE port which provides the most efficient link in the logistics chain that will attract the biggest volume of cargo. FTW finds out how southern Africa's premier ports are marketing their respective advantages. Ports of Southern Africa Terry Hutson THE NATIONAL Ports Authority (NPA) has ambitious plans for the Port of Richards Bay. A number of projects to maintain the port's standing and ability to meet customer requirements are on the cards, including expanded coal handling facilities at the Richards Bay Coal Terminal (RBCT), additional berths for handling breakbulk and bulk liquids, and a feasibility study into possible container handling facilities catering for domestic requirements. A lack of financial backing has so far hampered efforts to get the dry dock project underway A number of other projects are also on the cards for the port, though not necessarily tied to direct Portnet expenditure. These include a combined passenger terminal/refrigerated fruit terminal at the small craft berth, which would be developed by private enterprise, and similarly a privately developed dry dock ship repair facility. A lack of financial backing has so far hampered efforts to get the dry dock project underway. Richards Bay offers a strategically placed deep-water port, with ample land and water for future development. It has excellent rail connections to Gauteng and because of its geographical position it offers, among South African ports, the logical conduit for Gauteng import/exports. Such is the expansion potential of the country's northernmost port that NPA CEO Siyabonga Gama has talked about the port berth capacity being increased eventually from 21 berths to 95. The Richards Bay Coal Terminal, which recently handled its 1 millionth ton of coal since inception in 1976, has a present capacity of 72 million to During the current financial year ended March 2001, RBCT achieved 66.8 mt and expects to export 69 mt of coal by March 2002 plus 2 mt of metallurgical coal. For about 15 years the proponents of the proposed South Dunes Coal Terminal (SDCT) dangled a carrot before the smaller coal producers who were locked outside the RBCT consortium - the carrot being a modern coal export facility. The news that SDCT will now be absorbed into RBCT means that these smaller producers will at last have access to world markets. The new plan calls for RBCT to enlarge its operation from a capacity of 72 million tons to 82 mt/year, with 6.5 mt being allocated to the South Dunes members, which will include a substantial black empowerment element. The expansion will cost an estimated R600 million and should be ready by December 2003, assuming that an environmental impact assessment is successfully completed. Since 1991 Richards Bay has provided a bunker barge service in addition to shoreline connections. Since that date more than 2.5 million tonnes of bunker fuel has been delivered by barge, with annual throughput growing to 280 000 tons. This is likely to increase even further following the arrival of a second bunker barge from another supplier. The new barge carries a 22m long bunker arm meaning that in future the largest vessel presently calling at the port can be handled.