Ngqura seen as south-south hub port

THE deep-water port of Ngqura outside Port Elizabeth is being configured as a hub harbour for south-south trade, according to Mervin Chetty, chief strategy officer of Transnet Port Terminals. According to Chetty, Transnet is investing R7-billion for the first phase of Ngqura, which will then be able to handle 800 000 teus a year. Part of this investment includes adding two new container berths to the existing two berths in the dormant harbour before it starts operating. The R7-billion includes superstructure, cranes and rail connections to form the “Ngqura Corridor”. Chetty says Transnet has identified an opportunity to create a hub in South Africa to serve the freight traffic between Brazil, India and China. “Shipping lines are looking for hubs. Countries without hubbing facilities will be left out in the cold,” he told FTW. Ngqura is well positioned as a hub because it is “at the centre of traffic corridors between Asia, Latin America and the European Union.” Traffic will be repositioned from the Middle East to Ngqura, says Chetty. The port is expected to be operational by the fourth quarter of 2009, according to Transnet Port Terminals chief executive Tau Morwe. Further expansion will see the port being able to handle 1.5-million teus by 2015, with final capacity at 2-million teus a year.