Even though this west coast deep water port’s future function appears confined largely to bulk production -
iron ore exports and the like - there is still a role for limited diversification.
Chief among these is the latest development, handling containers, and an as yet unfulfilled hope of involvement in oil-rich West Africa’s oil and gas boom. RAY SMUTS reports....
Saldanha breaks
into container market
Forklift leased for container stacking
A breakthrough in the Port of Saldanha’s quest for diversification is that it will soon be handling a new commodity - containers.
National Ports Authority port manager Eugene Kearns describes the decision by Customs to grant the port the authority to handle containers as “quite a milestone” though he stresses such an operation will be complementary to, rather than in competition with, the Port of Cape Town.
Says Hannes Human, Sapo, Multi-Purpose Terminal manager: “The big difference is that this will not be a pure container operation but a breakbulk container operation capable of handling 20-foot and 40-foot boxes.”
In preparation for the introduction of this new facility to commence during the course of this year, the MPT has leased a multi-purpose 32-ton forklift capable of stacking containers two high and a 28-ton forklift was delivered in February 2004.
Kearns and Human assert that the MPT is anxious to attract more business as productivity has increased significantly, so much so that the terminal is capable of handling three million tons of cargo a year.
Which explains why another 500 000-600 000 tons of imports/exports would be very welcome indeed.
