Three years since the start
of City Deep’s R800-million
makeover, Transnet last week
unveiled the new-look terminal
which has doubled its handling
capacity to 400 000 TEUs per
annum.
The impact of the economic
slowdown is evident from
the number of containers at
the facility, but for Transnet
it’s about investing ahead of
demand – which is what its
Market Demand Strategy is all
about.
The road-to-rail strategy
is a key element of the MDS.
Transnet has so far spent
R108.9 billion on its rail, ports
and pipelines infrastructure,
which will increase to
R125 billion by the end of
the current financial year.
The City Deep upgrade
involved the replacement of all
container-handling equipment
with new state of the art Rail
Mounted Gantries (RMGs),
reach stackers and container
handlers.
It’s also seen the installation
of the Navis terminal operating
system, with the same platform
as marine ports, and the
installation of a new gate and
weighbridge system which
significantly improves security
and safety.
The gate system
automatically reads the
registration of arriving
trucks and containers. “Every
truck that comes into the
terminal carrying containers
goes through the gate and is
weighed,” a spokesman told
FTW. “The system has optical
character readers which read
the number plate and the
container to ensure that the
information corresponds with
that supplied by the customer.
If there is any deviation we
pull the truck off and process it
differently or send it back.”
Transnet acting group chief
executive, Siyabonga Gama,
said that with the additional
stacking capacity, Transnet
was able to tailor-make and
customise storage solutions
for its big volume customers
– especially fast-moving
consumer goods.
“Our commitment to
moving cargo off our roads
onto rail goes beyond
Transnet. It is a key national
imperative with immeasurable
benefits for the environment
and the economy, including
cost, lower emissions and
congestion on our roads and
safety,” Gama concluded.
CAPTION
One of TFR’s new Rail Mounted Gantries lifts a container from rail to truck to mark the
milestone official launch of the R800m City Deep upgrade.
New-look City Deep officially launched
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