Container terminal being rapidly finalised - Erwin ED RICHARDSON SOME OF the biggest container ships in the world will be calling at the port of Ngqura in the Eastern Cape from the end of 2005, says National Ports Authority chief executive Siyabonga Gama. Speaking at a ceremony to mark the filling of the harbour basin and breaking through into the ocean, Gama predicted that Ngqura would develop into a transhipment hub, as well as a port to serve the Coega Industrial Development Zone and the rest of the southern African hinterland. Gama told FTW last week that the National Ports Authority (NPA) was involved in negotiations with a number of potential operators for the container and bulk berths at Ngqura. In the first phase, the harbour will have two container, one bulk, one break-bulk and one liquid bulk terminal. Over the next 25 years the harbour could be expanded to 36 berths. In the first phase, the port of Ngqura will be able to handle Post Panamax vessels of up to 80 000 deadweight tonnes and 4 500 containers - twice the size of the 2 400 TEU ships currently calling on South Africa.
