‘Private sector ready and willing to invest in EL port’

TRANSNET SHOULD consider handing the rail links between the port of East London and Gauteng, as well as the port of East London to local business and government if it is not able to invest in the muchneeded infrastructure upgrade. This is the opinion of Dave Kirkman, Safmarine automotive account manager and head of the local office. Kirkman, who has been part of various task groups looking into the much-needed infrastructure development, says Transnet should look for a willing partner, such as the private-public partnership between business and Buffalo City, to invest in the port. This follows statements by Transnet that it has no plans for significant investment in either the East London port or the rail link to Gauteng. Kirkman is among those who believe this could see a continued decline in the services that shipping lines are able to offer out of East London. Container traffic in and out of the port of East London needs to be “balanced” in order to ensure that direct weekly calls continue, he says. At present the balance is heavily tilted to imports, with few exports leaving by container. The keys to the balancing of the traffic include the upgrading of the port and the rail links to Gauteng. Kirkman says the private sector is willing and able to step in should Transnet not want to invest. “There is a group of committed partners who would like to talk to Transnet about the plans for the port in order to seek a workable solution,” he says. Advantages of the port of East London include its ability to operate year round. “Because we use ship’s gear, the wind doesn’t stop us. We are also able to achieve up to 12 crane moves an hour, which compares favourably to the 18 to 20 claimed for the gantries in Port Elizabeth,” he says. An alternative to deepening the harbour and upgrading the container terminal could be to turn the port into a dedicated vehicle hub. There would be no need for deepening the channels as Ro-Ro carriers are already making use of the port. “There is an opportunity for us to model ourselves on Bristol in Britain, for example, which has turned itself into the car port for Europe. East London could do something similar,” says Kirkman. However, in the short term the need is to bring more containerised export traffic through East London.