Private sector gets a look-in at Ngqura

Transnet National Ports Authority (TNPA) has confirmed that a tender is currently out for the container terminal at the Port of Ngqura. Speaking on the sidelines of the African Ports Evolution forum in Cape Town last week, Tau Morwe, TNPA CEO, said they were optimistic about private sector involvement in the country’s ports and therefore foresaw no challenges in the tender currently out for a terminal operator at Ngqura. “Thanks to the Ports Act, all our terminals have gone out to tender and we have also completed a process where performance agreements have been put in place for each terminal operator,” he said. The latest tender to go out is for the Ngqura container terminal after the government claimed Transnet Port Terminals did not have a licence and that it therefore needed to be put out to tender. Morwe said they would be careful about how they dealt with the situation but were confident that the process would result in a terminal operator that would best serve South Africa’s newest and fastest growing port. “Bringing private sector involvement into the ports is crucial for South Africa and that is one of the major changes that was brought about by the Ports Act of 2005,” he said. In the meantime Morwe said a tender had recently been awarded to an independent bulk liquid storage provider to operate the new liquid bulk tank farm facility at the port. This facility will be moved from its current location at the Port of Port Elizabeth. Morwe said encouraging private participation in the ports would continue to be high on the agenda of TNPA over the next few years as ports are upgraded and improved. Some R80 billion will be invested across the country by TNPA as part of the Transnet market demand strategy. INSERT & CAPTION Bringing private sector involvement into the ports is crucial for South Africa. – Tau Morwe