‘RB has plenty of room for expansion’

Various plans are in place to ensure that the Port of Richards Bay is ready to cope with future growth, port manager Thami Ntshingila said. “We have capacity for 91 million tonnes at our coal terminal with six berths available. We are only hovering around the 65-million-tons mark so we are still far from our capacity and have already earmarked some vacant land that can be developed in future for another coal terminal should the need arise.” He said in terms of breakbulk capacity there was more than enough space for expansion and increased output. “We currently have a capacity of 8.2 million tonnes. In terms of our dry bulk terminal we are handling some 13 million tonnes which is also still far from the 21-milliontonnes capacity that we have available.” Ntshingila said the port was in the process of purchasing more land from the municipality to ensure it had the capacity for future developments. “Even within the existing terminals there are vast pieces of land that can still be developed.”