Durban's port expansion project to ease congestion and boost capacity

The South African Transnet National Ports Authority (TNPA) is developing two new infrastructure projects in the ports of Durban and Richards Bay. PHOTO: Aerial view of the Durban port landscape. Getty Images

The TNPA has secured funding from the Development Bank of Southern Africa (DBSA) to enhance port infrastructure in Durban and Richards Bay. In Durban, the TNPA aims to ease congestion by increasing port capacity. It will appoint an agency to design and commission berth infrastructure in the port by this April.

The main goal is to increase the terminal capacity from 0.2 million TEUs to 1.8 million TEUs. As part of this, three berths at Pier 2 of the Durban Container Terminal will be deepened and lengthened from the current 914 meters to 1,210 meters. This will enable three 350-meter-long super post-panamax vessels, each with a draft of 14.5 meters, to be berthed simultaneously in the port. The expansion work is scheduled to commence in the port of Durban between August and December this year.

The need to boost capacity comes as Durban currently has only around 60 available berths for vessels, according to Inchcape Shipping Services. Bunker fuel grades are also available via ex-pipe at Pier 1, the container terminal, and a few berths, according to the TNPA. Gasoil via ex-pipe is restricted to a few berths. Deliveries can be facilitated by bunker barges at select berths and other locations within the port. Meanwhile, bunkering at outer port limits (OPL) is restricted.

The recent Red Sea crisis, coupled with the suspension of offshore bunkering in Algoa Bay, has led to a surge in bunker demand in ports across Africa, including Durban and Richards Bay.  

In Richards Bay, the TNPA will use the DBSA funds to appoint a developer for the common-use infrastructure facility needed for the Liquified Natural Gas (LNG) terminal in the South Dunes Precinct. The port authority also aims to develop a gas transmission pipeline to handle LNG imports and bulk service infrastructure.

By Manjula Nair

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