Pressure for rail upgrade to Ngqura

There is growing pressure on Transnet to increase capacity on the rail links serving the ports of Ngqura and Port Elizabeth. Ngqura is beating its budget forecasts several times over, according to Siya Mhlaluka, terminal executive manager of Eastern Cape Terminals. In the first few months of operation, the port handled 70 000 TEUs, instead of the budgeted 50 000. A target of 100 000 TEUs was set for the first financial year, and the port is “looking at” over 400 000 TEU. Some 61% is transit cargo. Taking part in a media briefing marking the first year of Ngqura’s operation, John Lawlor of MOL Port Elizabeth said there was concern about rail capacity. With Ngqura acting as the hub port for the line’s operations, it would be necessary to move up to a thousand containers at a time from the reef. Additional pressure will be put on the rail line as volumes of bulk exports through the ports of Ngqura and Port Elizabeth grow. Port Elizabeth and Ngqura port manager Sanjay Govan confirmed that the port authority was in discussions with Transnet Freight Rail, and with exporters and importers of bulk commodities. Negotiations are at a “sensitive and delicate stage,” and “we are leveraging all our muscle to attract new cargo,” he said. Acting Transnet Port Terminals (TPT) CEO Karl Socikwa welcomed the “bullish” sentiment of lines like MOL for Ngqura, and said “Transnet is aligned to that.”