Tardy Marthinus inhibits CT extension plans

Saldanha investment would be most feasible alternative Sanjay Govan… 'We don't see any reason why our submission should be turned down.' RAY SMUTS TO SUGGEST that Cape Town’s port manager is more than a little exasperated at the delay in reaching an accord over extensions to the Mother City Container Terminal is putting it mildly. Sanjay Govan told FTW last week that he wasn’t sure whether his submission had even reached the office of the minister of environmental affairs and tourism. “The officials we are talking with say that minister Marthinus van Schalkwyk does not like to be rushed into these decisions; that is fine, that is understandable, but a period of almost 18 months is just not acceptable.” Govan says feedback from officials indicates the minister is intent on appointing an independent consultant to verify the facts before advising him. Govan has asked Transnet CEO Maria Ramos to seek assistance from minister Alec Erwin in speeding up the container terminal submission process. “We have thought about it and don’t see any reason why our submission should be turned down. But if that happens, the most feasible alternative will be investment in Saldanha. “However, that’s not even guaranteed because there are often complaints that the building of the harbour has led to erosion at Langebaan. Govan believes that a thumbs-down for extending the Cape Town Container Terminal by 300 metres, thereby increasing box capacity from the current
600 000 to some 1.5 million TEUs, would be a very big setback for the city and he doesn’t see it happening.” The best alternative, even as part of NPA/Sapo’s long-term planning toward 2050 indicates the next container terminal needs to be built at the port of Saldanha – which would have capacity for around 6.7 million TEUs – with most boxes railed from there to Cape Town.