Port of Port Elizabeth boosts vehicle handling capacity

Automobile manufacturers Ford SA and BMW SA are believed to be in discussions regarding making the Port of Port Elizabeth their new vehicle export hub.

Trans­net Port Ter­min­als East­ern Cape man­aging exec­ut­ive Wandisa Vazi, speaking at the port on Friday, said its automotive terminal had increased capacity to meet rising demand from automotive manufacturers.

According to The Herald, Vazi said the terminal had boosted capacity due to demand from Ford SA and BMW SA and to meet its commitments under its existing contract with VW SA for VW Polo exports.

Vavi said vehicle manufacturers were “now put­ting pres­sure on the gov­ern­ment to ensure we invest in the rail com­ing down to the East­ern Cape because they want to export only through the East­ern Cape”.

Asked whether the company was seeking to make the port its export hub, Ford SA cor­por­ate com­mu­nic­a­tions man­ager Dudu Nxele told the newspaper that the matter was “still under ongoing discussion”.

A spokes­per­son for BMW could not be reached for com­ment.

Trans­net’s Ukuvuselela project could lead to the development of a high-capacity vehicle freight cor­ridor between Gauteng and the East­ern Cape by 2028. 

The project was launched to sup­port the auto­mot­ive man­u­fac­tur­ing sec­tor and is being spearheaded by the Indus­trial Devel­op­ment Cor­por­a­tion to ensure the con­tin­ued viab­il­ity of auto­mot­ive man­u­fac­tur­ing in Gauteng.

It aims to cre­ate a rail link between the Port of Port Eliza­beth and Gauteng to trans­port vehicles and auto­mot­ive goods and to develop a cost-effect­ive rail solu­tion for the industry between Pre­toria and the Port of Port Elizabeth.