THE quay wall at the Port of Durban is being upgraded. The works are part of a seven-year infrastructure upgrade and maintenance project costing ZAR21.3 billion (US$2.73 billion) to double the facility's container handling capacity to five million TEU.

    According to Hamilton Nxumalo, head of port infrastructure at the Transnet National Port Authority, the port improvement works are part of the ZAR300 billion that President Jacob Zuma "announced the government would be investing in infrastructure development through Transnet alone over the next seven years", reports the Durban Mercury.

    Port development projects designed to enable Durban to handle bigger ships, include rehabilitation and deepening of Berth 2 and Berth 5 at Island Vie, totalling ZAR626 million; upgrading Bayhead Road to incorporate a new truck staging area at a cost of ZAR256 million; replacing steel pile berths at Maydon Wharf at a cost of ZAR1.6 billion; and re-engineering the Durban Container Terminal for ZAR692 million.

    "We want to deepen the North Quay from 12.8 metres to 16.5 metres, and also lengthen it from 915 metre to 1,190 metre to accommodate larger vessels that can now come into Durban, thanks to the harbour widening and deepening project," Mr Nxumalo said.

    Durban port manager Ricky Bhikraj said Transnet had up to 45 projects, big and small, under way in the port at any one time.

    He said the ZAR21.3 billion figure was based on only the port authority's investment plans for Durban, and did not include investments earmarked by its sister company and port operator, Transnet Port Terminals.

    The report said the port authority has also been holding talks with the South African Navy to buy part of Salisbury Island for further expansion. He said the "dig-out port plan" for the old Durban International Airport site was a separate project.

(Source:Shippingazette)