Port investment programme will be reviewed annually

As Transnet embarks on its R33bn port investment programme – allocated to ship to shore cranes, yard cranes, new technology and people development over a seven-year planning horizon – it will be subject to annual reviews. “We are not oblivious to what is happening in Europe, for example,” TPT CEO Karl Socikwa said last week. “We are watching it very closely to see the impact it will have on us.” Transnet’s investment programme will therefore undergo annual budget assessments that will enable the company to review the pace of investment and whether it is happening in areas where it should be happening, he said. “We will need to track global issues that will confront us as a business – and while the softening of volumes in some sectors is not causing immediate concern, this is an area that will be monitored.” “Imports/exports are a function of the level of economic activity that’s taking place in the country. There’s little we can do in driving import/export volumes – it’s more your transhipment volumes where with innovative ways you can have a handle on it and we’re doing that,” he said last week. Shipping lines have indicated to TPT that they are not overly concerned about the reduction in container volumes, which could be due to a soft blip or a softening of demand from markets they are servicing in Europe. “They themselves are not in a situation where they are saying that they’re in crisis mode,” said Socikwa. Commenting on the allocation of funds, Socikwa said a lot of investment was trying to reverse historic trends. “We are not only investing in areas that have received attention in the past,” said Socikwa. “We are starting to look at other areas in the business to ensure that there’s an even spread of economic activity,” he said. Richard’s Bay terminal will receive the lion’s share of the spend due to ageing infrastructure. The terminal is a complex one from an operational point of view as it handles a multitude of commodities, unlike Port Elizabeth that handles manganese or Saldanha that handles iron ore. Durban will be second in line, while Ngqura – which has seen major investment in the past – is set to get two more mega-max cranes to be added to the other six cranes at the terminal. At the Cape Town port, R5 billion has been spent in the last couple of years.