MSC’s Uitenhage container yard moves into action

JOY ORLEK MEDITERRANEAN SHIPPING Company’s (MSC) R40-million container yard at the Nelson Mandela Bay Logistics Park (NMBLP) in Uitenhage moves into action next month. Development of the 60 000 m2 facility began six months ago and will cater for full and empty containers. It’s a typical customer-driven solution, says MSC Logistics director Georgi Georgiev, and that’s what MSC is all about. Automotive industry The facility will form a “triangle of opportunities” in terms of its distance to two of the Eastern Cape’s major automotive industries – Volkswagen South Africa (VWSA) and General Motors South Africa (GMSA). It is also close to Ford’s RoCam engine plant and the Coega auto cluster. Located within South Africa’s second Automotive Supplier Park in one of the country’s automotive hubs, the facility is expected to stimulate continued growth in South Africa’s automotive and export sectors. “But the positive impact goes beyond that,” Georgiev told FTW. “We will alleviate congestion at the PE container terminal. We have created more than 50 new jobs and we are confident that the area will grow significantly. We also believe that the supply park concept is viable for the region – it brings us closer to our customers’ needs, which translates into better service.” Operating its own depots has been company policy since inception. MSC currently operates full and empty depots in Durban, City Deep, Cape Town, Rosslyn and now PE. All are customs licensed and are linked to the Spoornet rail network “We have invested extensively in depots – excluding PE they represent R150m in equipment and property.” The Automotive Supplier Park Concept was developed by the Automotive Industry Development Corporation five years ago, with the ASP in Rosslyn the pilot project. “MSC Depots realised the potential of the concept and became a partner in the ASP Rosslyn. The success in Rosslyn led to replication of the concept in Uitenhage,” Georgiev told FTW. “Being one of the biggest potential users of the Coega container terminal we are following the developments at Coega port with interest, not only as a user, but as a terminal and depot operator,” he said.