Tambo Springs terminal sets 2018/2019 deadline

With the tender process for the
development of the Tambo
Springs inland terminal in the
south of Johannesburg drawing to a
close at the end of this month, there
remains uncertainty as to the kind
of economic impact it will have on
the Gauteng province’s transport and
logistics industry.
Associate director for capital
projects and infrastructure at
consulting firm PwC, Andrew
Shaw, pointed out during a panel
discussion at last week’s South
African Association of Freight
Forwarders’ (Saaff) Congress 2016
that the Tambo Springs development
had been identified by the Gauteng
government as a key distribution site.
“But the question is to what extent
can Tambo Springs capture the
logistics market?” He said that a
demand assessment needed to be
conducted. “There seems to be some
reluctance by cargo owners to switch
to rail, and that needs to be taken
into account,” Shaw commented.
He added that the proposed
Tambo Springs development also
needed to offer full customs clearing
capabilities in line with successful
European inland port facility
models.
“Furthermore, the property
dimensions – such as warehousing
– need to properly integrate with
the terminal to optimise operational
efficiency,” said Shaw, noting that if
these elements were incorporated,
there would be greater industry
uptake.
Tumi
Mohulatsi,
divisional
director for the
Tambo Springs
Development
Company, said
that some demand
assessment
studies, along with
the potential impact on the economy,
had already been done, but agreed
with Shaw that there were numerous
variables that still needed to be taken
into account.
Elvin Harris, executive manager:
branchlines at Transnet Freight Rail
(TFR) pointed out
that construction
of the first phase
of the terminal
should start
early next year,
following the
appointment of
winning bidders.
“We hope to
complete it by late
2018/early 2019, with an initial rollout
capacity of 140 000 TEUs.”
INSERT & CAPTION
There seems to be some
reluctance by cargo owners
to switch to rail.
– Andrew Shaw