P&O awaits next concessioning move

Majority shareholder DPW wants to invest in SA ALAN PEAT PATIENCE IS proving to be a bit of a virtue as far as waiting for the privatisation/concessioning of SA port facilities is concerned, according to Greg van der Krol, GM and finance director of P&O Ports Nationwide in SA. It’s been a slow evolution since the concept of “full privatisation” of the port cargo handling facilities was first officially aired in 2002. The news was accompanied by a herd of port operators breathing down the necks of government negotiators. But, by October of that year, the trade union body Cosatu had declared its enmity towards privatisation, and the then minister of public enterprises, Jeff Radebe, had changed the term to “concessioning”. But, at the same time, he added that the government had prioritised the concessioning of the ports of Durban, Richards Bay and the deep-water harbour of Ngqura (Coega) – and he expected the concessioning of all of SA’s ports to be completed by the end of 2003. However, four years of union warfare - including a parliamentary committee enquiry into this form of “restructuring” of the ports and crisis meetings between union leaders and senior management at Transnet – has seen the concept take a backburner. By the middle of last year, the current minister of public enterprises, Alec Erwin, had reaffirmed that the two port divisions, NPA and Sapo, would remain state-owned – but indicated that the concessioning of Durban’s Pier One container terminal remained a definite possibility. Erwin said the door also remained open for joint ventures between Transnet and private enterprise. That’s as far as it’s gone, according to Van der Krol, whose company was always one of the front-runners in the chase – and intends to remain so, he added. “Dubai Ports World is our majority shareholder,” he said, “and its objective is to invest in Africa. SA is therefore an important part of its investment plan - and it will explore any possibility of a public/private partnership in this country’s ports.” When this will be activated he can’t say. “It’s a major frustration for us,” he told FTW. “When they talk about partnerships there’s no explanation of what these will consist of, or any dates. “We are, however, open to any sort of suggestion of concessions – even if it’s only a management contract.” In its present stevedoring efforts, P&O Ports is one of the major service providers at the SA ports, and is making sure it provides the most efficient service it can, according to Krol. “That prepares us to be positioned in the forefront for public/private partnerships, and that’s where we want to be.”