Several major projects under way

Redesigning the entrance channel
is far from all that has been
happening in the Port of Durban.
Several other large projects have and are
taking place, with others in the pipeline.
One of those, newly completed, is the
Pier 1 Container Terminal, which has
been somewhat overshadowed by the
development of the Ngqura Container
Terminal even though Pier 1 offers a
similar capacity and ultimately the same
facilities as does Ngqura.
Built on the site of the Pier 1 Multi
Purpose Terminal on the south of the
harbour, the new container terminal
consists of three berths, although only
two are generally in use. These currently
have draught restrictions of 12.8m
although proposals are in hand to deepen
the berths and provide a 16m depth
alongside. What the terminal does boast
is having been equipped with six Super
Post-Panamax ship to shore cranes and a
fleet of rubber tyre gantry (RTG) cranes
to handle the stacking of containers –
the first terminal in South Africa to be
equipped with RTGs.
Pier 1 Container Terminal has an
annual design capacity of around
720 000 TEUs and makes use of the
Navis SPARC operating system – again
the first terminal to do so in South
Africa. A new rail terminal has also
been completed along with an automated
gate complex, in each event pioneering
developments for the other terminals.
Pier 1 Container Terminal has cost
Transnet in the region of R2 billion to
develop.
A study to extend the terminal into
the Salisbury Island complex is currently
at feasibility stage – if this proceeds it
will add another 800 000 TEUs to the
terminal’s overall capacity, yet another
similarity with Ngqura.
At the adjacent Durban Container
Terminal (DCT), upgrading of the actual
quayside on the north end of the terminal
(berth 203 -205) is currently under way
along with the refurbishment of the
terminal’s older ship to shore gantry
cranes. The terminal has also been
equipped with a number of new super
Post-Panamax STS cranes and the fleet
of over a hundred straddle carriers has
been replaced entirely with new Kalmar
machines, including a number that are
capable of stacking boxes four high.
Within DCT’s precincts construction
of the relocated workshop buildings
and a new multi level parkade for staff
vehicles is under way on the outer
perimeter of the terminal to create more
stacking space within the terminal itself.
This terminal will also be converting to
the Navis SPARC operating system in
the near future – DCT currently makes
use of a COSMOS designed system.
During 2008 the Port of Durban
handled a total of 2.56 million TEUs at
all terminals, a slight increase on the
previous year but still almost two thirds
of the total containers handled at South
African ports.
Warehouse for soya bean
imports under way
In other areas of the port a large
warehouse with a capacity to store
80 000 tons of soya bean imports is
under construction at the Maydon Wharf
Agriport Terminal opposite berth 8.
Transnet has long-term plans to
refurbish the old Maydon Wharf area –
the berths date back to the early 1900s
and many are extremely shallow in
draught and in need of refurbishment.
These proposals are currently on hold
but if and when the nod is finally given
it will entail major engineering to create
deeper berths. Transnet also ‘harbours’ an
ambition to create clusters of similar-type
commodities along the length of the 15
Maydon Wharf berths. Again, due to the
current economic downturn, this project
has been placed on the back-burner until
more favourable times.
Still handling 6m tonnes of
breakbulk
While breakbulk cargo remains a diminishing commodity worldwide it
is worthwhile noting that Durban still
handles almost six million tonnes of
breakbulk – which in itself is greater than
the combined cargoes of all types handled
at a number of ports in the southern
Africa region.
The Durban Car Terminal has almost
completed an expansion programme
taking it to the planned capacity of
14 000 slots. Four dedicated berths are
available for the use of car carriers, a
unique facility anywhere in southern
Africa. In 2008 the Durban Car Terminal
handled a total of 372 557 motor units,
of which 184 511 were imports, 182 091
exports with the small balance being
tranship vehicles.
Another area of the port receiving
some much-needed attention is the Island
View oil and petro-chemical terminal.
The complex now houses more than a
thousand large storage tanks, making
this one of the largest such facilities in
the southern hemisphere. The facility is
also one of the port’s oldest, dating back
to the 1920s when the first tanks were
constructed. This construction period
extended through into the 1950s when
the last of nine berths was opened to
shipping although new tanks continue
to be erected. However, maintenance
work on the berthing area has been
badly in need of attention and upgrading
is currently under way, with one berth
being taken out of service at a time
for refurbishment. Several berths have
already been completed.
Bayhead road upgrade on hold
Another project to be placed on hold as
a result of the downturn, and one that
will probably be roundly criticised by the
freight industry for being short-sighted, is
the temporary suspension of the Bayhead
Road upgrade project.
The intention was to extend the
double highway aspect of Bayhead Road
beyond the Langeberg Road junction
(DCT turnoff) to provide improved
road facilities and access to the Pier 1
Container Terminal as well as the Island
View petro-chemical complex. This
included plans for a truck staging area
for vehicles using the Pier 1 Container
Terminal. Transnet has indicated that it
will review the situation during 2010.