RSA is catching up
Internationalisation requires improved infrastructure in ports and in their overland transport links to the hinterlands. In South Africa, the venue of this year’s Fiata World Congress, these needs are creating a veritable shake-up of the port and logistics sector.
The willingness of the South African authorities to improve the national organisational structure is growing, not least because of the increase in foreign investment, especially in funds from China. The bodies’ overarching aim is to increase links with investors’ countries of origin, and thus also the volume of trade between the countries involved.
A key state-owned player
This approach will only work if a certain degree of standardisation is achieved in the national infrastructure, in ports in particular as well as for overland connections. Of all goods traded internationally, 80% are still transported by sea in terms of volume, and 70% in terms of value.
The state-owned Transnet National Ports Authority (TNPA), a division of Transnet, plays a decisive role in the organisation of South Africa’s ports. It controls and manages all eight commercial ports – Richards Bay, Durban, East London, Ngqura, Port Elizabeth, Mossel Bay, Cape Town, Saldanha – on the country’s coastline, which stretches for approximately 3,000 km along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans.
TNPA’s ports, ideally located in Africa’s southernmost region, are suited to serving destinations in east and west. A very substantial part of the imports and exports traded with South Africa make their way into and out of the country through these ports.
Planning for Durban’s future
One of the ports managed by the TNPA is widely considered to be one of the particularly important gateways in the region of Sub-Saharan Africa – namely Durban (together with the port of Abidjan in Ivory Coast and the key hub of Mombasa in Kenya).
According to a report published recently by PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC), the city of Durban is particularly interesting to industry because of its many air links, its proximity to motorways and its good internet networks, as well as due to its large hinterland. The report also mentions Saldanha, Richards Bay and Cape Town as key major bulk ports in the region.
Containerised vs bulk goods
The port of Durban’s potential is currently only being exploited to the tune of approximately 75%, the report continues. One of the reasons for this is that Sub-Saharan countries mainly import containerised goods, while exports consist primarily of bulk goods.
As a result of this tendency, many empty containers are sent back to their gateway of origin. This has a negative impact on the port’s available capacity and results in higher logistics costs for consignments. PwC therefore believes the government needs to reconsider its strategy and increasingly export higher-value goods. In addition, investment in better infrastructure and equipment is also needed.
Transnet has already made a number of such investments, for example in maintenance and by purchasing the additional cranes, tippers, excavators and modern locomotives required.
New helicopters
On top of this South Africa is convinced that the significance of security in its transhipment centres remains of the utmost importance. The TNPA has therefore invested in two new AW109 SP helicopters, manufactured by the Italian company Leonardo and acquired for a total of around ZAR 250 million (approximately EUR 15 million).
They were commissioned in the ports of Durban and Richards Bay on 31 August. These units, which have replaced older helicopters that were simultaneously decommissioned, are used to transfer marine pilots onto and off ships making calls in the hubs, to ensure that vessels can be guided safely and efficiently.
One of three countries in the world
This latest move should further improve port operations, according to TNPA’s acting chief executive officer Nozipho Mdawe. TNPA has only deployed helicopters in these two ports so far, she said. The port of Cape Town will be added later, with the first helicopter due to enter service there in 2022.
This makes South Africa one of only three countries worldwide to be able to provide this rather efficient option to transport pilots by helicopter. The helicopter contract includes a supplier development obligation that ensures a degree of socio-economic benefits will accrue in South Africa itself, including the creation of new jobs, the potential development of improved skills and the use of local companies, materials as well as parts where possible.
