Transnet National Ports Authority (TNPA) has embarked on
a massive boost to the provision and upgrading of infrastructure at
the port of Durban.
Maydon Wharf 12 where work has already commended on deepening
the berth from its current -5.5m to -14.5m. (Picture courtesy
TNPA)
On Monday we reported that investment worth R10.73 billion was
underway, and highlighted that some of these involved the deepening
of berths 203 to 205 on the North Quay of Pier 2, Durban Container
Terminal.
Among the other projects underway is the reconstruction of the
Island View petrochemical and oil berths, which have become
inadequate in the face of modern shipping and the larger vessels.
In addition the berths are ageing and in some cases require
complete rebuilding of the dolphin berths.
Island View handles about five million tonnes of oil and petroleum
products each year and has a high strategic value to the country,
including having a connection to the oil pipelines that run from
Durban to the Gauteng area.
Reconstruction of the berths began with berth 6 which has since
been fully re-commissioned, with the construction team moving to
berth 5. Each rebuilt berth will be 300m in length and capable of
handling ships of up to 45,000-dwt in future. The project involving
these two berths is worth R363 million.
Reconstruction of berth 2 is also underway and involves a new deck
on pile structure for the provision of a third dolphin berth to
provide additional length, with the draught alongside being
increased from 10.9m to 14.5m CD. This will enable tankers of up to
60,000-dwt in size to use berth 2. This project is costing R263
million and is due for completion in March 2012.
One of the major and most exciting projects in the port involves
the historic Maydon Wharf area, where TNPA has undertaken to
rebuild seven of the 15 berths while deepening them at the same
time. Costing R1.6 billion the project will see berths 12 - 14 and
berths 1 - 4 being deepened using sheet pile quay walls to provide
a draught alongside of -14.5 metres and to handle ships of up to
65,000-dwt.
Work has already commenced on berth 12 - the contractor Stefanutti
Stocks moved on site in July and the entire project will be
complete by July 2016. One might expect that a further contract to
attend to the remaining berths might then follow.
Port manager Ricky Bhikraj says that one of the key areas that
TNPA faces is how to manage the logistics around the rejuvenation
of the berths while the reconstruction of each berth is taking
place. Cargo working that is displaced has to be accommodated
elsewhere.
The area between berths 9 and 13 is likely to become a new
stand-alone container terminal once the berth deepening is
complete. Container ships have already begun using berths 10 and 11
for this purpose.
Other projects involving Maydon Wharf include back of port
operations. A large number of non-port related activities take
place within the 120ha precinct and TNPA is in discussion with
these firms to encourage them to relocate away from the harbour so
that port spaces can be utilised for import/export activities
instead.
This may take a number of years to bring to fruition but in the
meantime the road and rail system within the area will also undergo
rejuvenation, with the redesigning of Maydon Road to include
adjacent truck staging areas. This is to alleviate the chronic road
congestion along Maydon and Johnson Roads as heavy-duty vehicles
arrive from upcountry to load or discharge grains, minerals and
chemicals. As they can only access the respective terminals two or
three at a time it forces other arriving vehicles to wait on the
roads outside, resulting in traffic congestion.
Meanwhile work on widening and realigning the Bayhead Road beyond
the turnoff to Durban Container Terminal Pier 2 is continuing and
several new truck staging areas are also being prepared. A further
project beyond this involves the building of the talked-about link
road connecting the container terminals on Piers 1 and 2 with Edwin
Swales VC Drive to the south, to alleviate some of the heavy
traffic from Bayhead Road.
Panoramic view of Maydon Wharf looking across berths 7 on the
right, to 11 on the left, with berths 12 to 15 around the corner.
The narrow Maydon Channel is also visible. (Picture courtesy
TNPA)
Other projects for Durban include the construction of a new
passenger terminal on A berth along with new administration
buildings, but that can be dealt with in a future report.
Good news for the people of Durban however was that the North
Pier, which provides some of the best views across Durban's famous
Golden Miles of beachfront and holiday-land, is due to be reopened
to the public from June 2012. That's according to the port manager
who said that all that remained to be settled was the question of
road traffic flows and parking, and the provision of suitable
railings along the pier.
Source: Ports and shipping - Terry Hutson