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Transnet seeks to reclaim land of the Durban Port

By: Dylan Naidoo

 

A recent application was gazetted for the Transnet National Port Authority (TNPA) seeking to reclaim certain hectares of land from the Durban port. The application was gazetted on 10 April, with the TNPA’s goal to develop artificial land.

 

In the application, the land to be claimed is situated between the existing Point multi-purpose terminal quay wall and the new Point Container Terminal quay

Wall, which allows for an expanded footprint in the increased container capacity. It is estimated that roughly four million m3 of infill material is required to cover an area of 22.4 hectares (ha), with the material to be sourced from ‘the authorised sandwinning site located offshore’, a location near the entrance to the port.

 

The TNPA explains that this expansion of the port is part of their ‘KZN Ports Master Plan’ aiming to reduce business costs, keeping the South African economy more competitive. The decision to reclaim this area is also to expand the capabilities of the Durban Port, positioning it as a premier container port hub in the entire region, further expanding the hub capacity to 10 and 11 million twenty-foot equivalent units (TEU). Along with this, TNPA aims to upgrade various areas of the port, including expanding the size of the container terminals as well as improving rail links to the port.

 

The gazetted application mentions that, should the TNPA be approved, the artificial land will be used to develop to following projects:

 

●      a new quay wall, berthing for container vessels

●      infrastructure that accommodates ultra-large container ships (ULCS)

●      operating harbour cranes

●      stacking containers (meaning more land for stacking containers on top of each other in blocks grouped by imports, exports etc); and

●      the availability of land and water areas for future expansion.

 


Proposed reclamation area in relation to sandwinning and dredging sites
Proposed reclamation area in relation to sandwinning and dredging sites

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