Durban's terminal expansion plans
Terry Hutson
A MILESTONE for the next and most significant stage of the Port of Durban Development 2005 project was reached last week when a contract to build new deepwater berths at the Point was awarded.
The contract, which includes the reclamation of 20 hectares of land from the bay opposite berths C - G, has been awarded to a joint venture comprising Grinaker-LTA, Inter beton, an international contracting firm, and emerging black empowerment company Bafokeng Civil Works. The contract is worth R271 million and has to be completed within 17 months.
This is the first tangible step towards increasing the capacity of the Durban container terminal by almost 50% to just under 2 million TEUs per annum and forms part
of a greater development that in 2000 was estimated would cost R1,34 billion.
A spokesperson for the National Ports Authority (NPA) said at
the weekend that notwithstanding
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escalation caused by the fluctuation in the rand/dollar rate, the NPA remains
fully committed to the project of converting Pier 1, the present multi purpose terminal, into an extension of the Durban container terminal. The NPA has already embarked on the first stage of the upgrade with the ordering of new infrastructure, including a fleet of straddle carriers to maximise the use of the
existing facilities.
The contract just awarded will consist of a caisson-type quay wall to provide five deepwater berths and the dredging of sand from out at sea which will be pumped into the enclosed area as a landfill.
Completion of this phase of the project is set for July 2003.
