October deadline looms for new Durban quay wall

Leonard Neill TENDERS CLOSE on October 9 for the construction of some 1 270m of quay wall at Durban harbour. The port is to undergo drastic change that will see the elimination of berths that were constructed a century ago to accommodate sailing vessels and small steamers of the day. These will make way for five new deepwater berths for which the National Port Authority issued tenders in August. It is part of the R1,34 billion Port of Durban Development 2005 project which will see the present Pier 1 multi-purpose terminal - adjacent to the Pier 2 container terminal - converted to a dedicated container terminal. Point berths D to G are to be upgraded to enable them to accommodate deep draught vessels. The new berths will be used as multipurpose cargo terminals handling breakbulk as well as containers. The new quay walls will be construct- ed of 52 double-cell cylindrical caissons, with depth alongside the water of 0-13,4m. The caissons will be built in the portÕs casting yard in the Bayhead area, and will be towed to the construction site and sunk on a prepared stone bed. When the tenders are issued in the latter part of the year they will also call for the reclamation of some three million cubic metres of sand to be dredged at sea off the port, and placed hydraulically behind the new quay wall. Casting will commence next January and the entire project is scheduled for completion by end 2003. After that surfacing and work on the cargo shed and ancillary superstructure will begin. Dredging of the foundation trench for the caissons will commence almost immediately and will be undertaken by the portÕs own dredging company, Dredging Services. The last new quay walls built in the harbour were those for the container terminal completed in 1975.