Transnet plans to establish
a logistics park within the
Ngqura port boundaries.
The park is part of
Transnet’s plans for the
port of Ngqura, in which
the Transnet National Ports
Authority (TNPA) is planning
to invest R7 billion up to 2019,
according to Rajesh Dana,
manager of the port of Port
Elizabeth.
Briefing FTW on behalf
of TNPA chief executive
Tau Morwe, Dana said the
port in 2019 would include a
four-berth container terminal
and transhipment hub, bulk
handling equipment for
manganese exports, a liquid
bulk terminal, and a small craft
basin.
Operation of the liquid bulk
and bulk terminals will be
put out to tender, as will the
management of the container
terminal for which Transnet
Port Terminals (TPT) has a
three-year licence.
For the first time TNPA has
revealed plans for a mooted oil
refinery in the Coega Industrial
Development Zone.
“The Port of Ngqura
supports Project Mthombo
and does not envisage any
constraints in enabling and
complementing the project,”
said Dana.
If the project goes ahead
the port would need to be
able to handle the offloading
of crude feedstock, and the
loading of finished product
for distribution through the
Durban-Gauteng pipeline and
other South African ports.
Depending on volumes, the
unloading and loading would
either take place through a
floating buoy system offshore,
or within the port itself.
If the original plans for a
400 000-barrel-per-day facility
go ahead, the refinery would
need to be fed by very large
crude carriers, which are too
big for the port of Ngqura.
Any plans for a single point
mooring facility in Algoa
Bay and near the world’s
largest African penguin
colony is likely to encounter
strong resistance from
environmentalists.
Dana says Transnet is,
however, confident that the
risks of a spill can be managed.
Within the port itself, the
new liquid bulk terminal
and tank farm would have
the capacity to cater for the
volumes, he says.
A final decision on
Mthombo, which is a joint
venture between PetroSA
and the government-owned
China Petroleum Corporation
(Sinopec), is currently the
subject of a business case
study.
If it goes ahead, the refinery
will be commissioned between
2018 and 2020.
CAPTION
Rajesh Dana, manager of the port of Port Elizabeth, briefing FTW on the plans for the ports of Ngqura
and Port Elizabeth.
