Transnet Port Terminals (TPT) has stabilised its business operations and is now on a growth path, TPT chief executive Jabu Mdaki told the country’s freight and logistics sector at the Transport Forum in Durban last week.
Mdaki said apart from setting aside R3.4 billion for new equipment in the 2025/2026 financial year, the terminal operator was now focused on reviewing loading cycles in the container sector, and upgrading container stack and rail infrastructure, as well as its agricultural capacity, at the Cape Town Multipurpose Terminal. It would also be delivering a third tippler to Saldanha’s Bulk Terminal operations in October 2025.
Underinvestment in equipment, compounded by inclement weather and stringent policies, has previously impacted efficiencies for the terminal operator.
However, TPT was refurbishing the existing fleet across its 16 terminals, which handle agricultural and mineral bulk, breakbulk, containers and automotive cargo, Mdaki said.
Other initiatives aimed at ensuring recovery include filling critical vacancies, employing a new shift pattern, and awarding long-term maintenance contracts to original equipment manufacturers.
“We have also had to employ new technologies, automate some of our processes, and maximise data analytics to predict maintenance and obtain business intelligence for effective planning and performance,” Mdaki said.
Preliminary numbers reviewing the 2024/2025 financial year indicated that the terminal operator had exceeded volume targets across five of its 16 terminals, he added. Historical milestones were achieved at the Richards Bay Terminals, Durban Container Terminal Pier 1, Durban Multipurpose Terminal and the Port Elizabeth Container Terminal. However, the operator remained focused on improving efficiencies, increasing its volume growth across sectors and growing its market share.
Mdaki recently said that US tariffs on South Africa’s exports across sectors posed a risk in company plans and annual forecasts. However, the operator is collaborating with business in ongoing engagements to mitigate the potential impact.
Meanwhile, the citrus fruit export season is currently under way, supported by new equipment commissioned and deployed to operations across the Durban and Gqeberha container terminals.
The new equipment includes a ship-to-shore crane at the Port Elizabeth Container Terminal, rubber-tyred gantry cranes, straddle carriers, rail-mounted gantry cranes, haulers, forklifts, trailers, reach stackers and ship-to-shore cranes at the Durban and Cape Town container terminals, and haulers in the Richards Bay terminal.
