Controversy continues to stalk the state-owned freight and rail parastatal following revelations that Transnet appears to be in contravention of the National Ports Act of 2005 after three leases at the Port of Durban were awarded to unknown business interests in Johannesburg. According to Kevin Martin, outgoing CEO of Freightliner Transport, “Transnet Properties has signed a series of leases in Ambrose Park to extend the port’s liquid bulk capacity beyond the Island View Precinct” which is protected under the National Key Point Act. In a letter sent to various government and private sector entities, he provides extensive details claiming that the manner in which the leases were awarded points to irregularities related to extending the port’s liquid bulk storage capacity to the area adjoining the intersection of Bayhead and Langeberg Roads, important access ways to container terminals one and two. The most important aspect of the leases, Martin said, was the fact that Ambrose Park fell outside the purview of the Port Regulator. Considering that a national service is set to be extended beyond the port, as “delineated by the Minister of Transport”, and taking into account that “terminal storage lies solely with Transnet National Ports Authority”, it all stands to reason that the leases “are a potential violation of the National Ports Act”. More importantly, Martin stressed that Island View had enough spare capacity to rule out the need for additional liquid bulk storage. “At the Durban Port Committee (DPC) we have been informed that there is 50% spare tank capacity for growth at the Island View Precinct, enough until the mid2030s, which begs the question – why build new facilities now?” Adding perspective to perceived back-door dealing, Martin said that important portrelated bodies such as the DPC and the South African Association of Ship Operators and Agents (Saasoa), had been bypassed in the awarding phase. “These leases were not widely advertised locally, nor was the local community approached for input. “Instead they were quietly signed off in Johannesburg.” Saasoa CEO Peter Besnard has since confirmed Martin’s allegations of secrecy surrounding the awarding of the leases, saying “there were no discussion with the likes of us on what exactly they intend to do there”. Martin commented that the timing was also curious, coming on the back of news late last year that Transnet had pulled the plug on a R3.6bn project meant to widen and lengthen port berths after it came to light that the tender process was fraught with corruption. “You get the sense that someone had to be thrown a bone.” Moreover, there was no certainty regarding who had got the leases and Transnet hadn’t responded to FTW’s inquiries when this issue went to press. “We don’t know who’s involved,” Besnard said. “But someone up in Johannesburg has struck the jackpot.” More importantly, Martin emphasised that should the Ambrose Park development go ahead, it could significantly increase the bottleneck of traffic around the Bayhead/ Langeberg intersection. He stressed that around 60% of South Africa’s container trade was funnelled from the two terminals though this section of the harbour’s logistics and, in a worstcase scenario, might even mean the loss of a “critical leg” for abnormal loads through a section called PX Block, necessitating the freighting of project cargo and the like to Richards Bay. Besnard, however, pointed out that Richards Bay didn’t have gantry crane capacity to handle large loads. Martin argued that congestion on the landside of the port already cost tax payers around R1m an hour and that bloated infrastructural development and supposedly unnecessary and railroaded past port concerns supported the notion that “the awarding of these leases is tantamount to economic sabotage”.
The awarding of these leases is tantamount to economic sabotage. – Kevin Martin
