Transnet opens private sector tenders for mega terminals

Has Transnet come up with a
cunning scheme to pluck cash
from private sector pockets to
fund its latest inland harbours?
In its biggest private sector
participation (PSP) project to
date, it has opened a tender bid
for private sector participants
to bear the capital cost required
in building the three mega
terminals that it is planning for
Gauteng over the next 20 years.
First off the blocks is to
be an inland container rail
terminal in Tambo Springs,
east of Johannesburg and
just off the N3 on the Natal
Corridor – an operation with
an initial capacity of 144 000
TEUs per annum, and an
option to ramp it up to 560 000
TEUs, depending on demand.
The facility is expected to be
operational by 2019.
The deal for the private
sector investor is that it will
design, build, operate, and
maintain the terminal over
a 20-year concession period.
During that time, it will be
responsible for loading and
offloading containers and
managing, operating and
marketing the terminal,
while Transnet Freight Rail
(TFR) will operate the arrival/
departure yard.
At the end of this
20-year period, the private
concessionaire will then hand
over the terminal to Transnet.
A statement issued on
behalf of Siyabonga Gama,
the Transnet group’s CE, and
released to FTW, defines the
motive for this scheme. “Private
sector participation is an
important aspect of Transnet’s
funding plan,” the statement
said. “The company has
identified PSPs as one of the
ways in which the company can
broaden its sources of funding
for capital investments and get
access to private sector skills
and expertise.”
So, last week, Transnet
invited suitably qualified global
logistics service providers to bid
for this finance, design, build,
operate, and maintain project.
It will consist of an arrival
and departure yard for
handling
cargo trains;
terminal
infrastructure
and
equipment; a
stacking area,
warehousing
space,
distribution
centre and
inland reefer
(refrigerated
container)
facilities.
As part of the marketing
responsibility, the winning
bidder will be expected to
introduce new entrants,
particularly black players. It
must also have demonstrated
technical expertise, a minimum
of level 4 broad-based black
economic empowerment
(BBBEE) status, and have a
commitment to reach level 2 by
the third year of operation.
And this inland harbour
scheme is not alone in the
Transnet PSP plans. The
state owned enterprise (SOE)
has also identified a number
of other projects that fit the
concept. These are: a Blue Train
PSP with Sun International;
a supply base facility and ship
and rig repair facilities in
Saldanha; ship repair facilities
in Richards Bay; boat building
and ship repair
facilities in East
London; the
refurbishment
and upgrade
of agricultural
terminals;
the Grootvlei
coal loading
facility in
Mpumalanga;
the Ceres
Railway
Line; and the
Mmamatwane
common-user loading facility.
“Besides increasing inland
container-handling capacity
and encouraging migration
to rail, the Tambo Springs
partnership will help Transnet
accelerate investment in
logistics infrastructure,
improve operational efficiencies
and secure adequate
commercial returns,” Gama
added.
The deadline for
submissions is September 30,
and Transnet is expected to
award the contract in the first
quarter of 2017.
INSERT & CAPTION
Private sector
participation is an
important aspect of
Transnet’s funding
plan.
– Siyabonga Gama