Richards Bay expansion to add breakbulk capacity

Transnet National Ports Authority (TNPA) is set to make sweeping upgrades and expand the Richards Bay port to increase its capacity to handle more bulk and break bulk goods. The port authority is preparing to start major expansion plans, with an estimated capital cost of R50-60 billion, in mid-2015 that will increase the port’s capacity for bulk commodities, including chrome ore, ferro-chrome and manganese ore, by more than 20 million tpy. The expansion project is now at feasibility stage, which means that the parastatal is in the process of reviewing how to roll out such an expansion, Sudesh Maharaj, programme director for the Transnet Richards Bay expansion programme, told FTW. He said last month that TNPA was aiming to start construction by June 2015 to complete by 2020. The expansion project includes the addition of berths for chrome ore that would take the port’s chrome ore capacity to 6 million tpy by 2018, a 134% increase in the port’s chrome ore capacity, while ferro-chrome capacity is to be increased to 3.7 million tpy by 2025. The project also includes manganese ore capacity of 1.3 million tpy by 2025 and 2.2 million tpy by 2040, although Maharaj told FTW that he still needed to continue his investigation into seeing what the manganese market demand and supply would do, with a glut of new mines set to come on stream in the Northern Cape in the next five years. Although Richards Bay would essentially remain a bulk coal terminal, TNPA has plans to add oil and gas, as well as liquefied natural gas. The south dunes area of the port has been earmarked for expansion for liquid bulk commodities, like liquid natural and petroleum gas. The upgrade and expansion plans include facilities to accommodate oversized cargo. TNPA is also looking to expand services to the oil and gas industry at other ports, including Saldanha on the west coast, Richards Bay on the east coast and the deepsea port of Ngqura in the Eastern Cape. Traditionally the Cape Town port is associated with handling oil and gas freight. Saldanha is expected to start liquid petroleum gas imports in 2014, FTW understands.