Durban Port Developments Gather Momentum

The Port of Durban is a construction site, with multiple projects under way, including upgrading access roads and plans for a multi-purpose terminal, a liquid bulk terminal and a recreational waterfront.

The projects are part of the Durban Port Master Plan for the next 30 years to increase the ports annual container handling capacity from 2.9 million to 11 million twenty-foot equivalent units TEUs, said acting portfolio director of the KwaZulu-Natal Logistics Hub Johnny Mokheseng at a media briefing on Tuesday.

He said the vehicle terminal would increase its vehicle handling capacity from 600 000 units to one million units a year to meet global demand. But the plan is to be reviewed after the transport minister last year granted a 25-year lease to Fresh Produce Terminals to continue operating in an area earmarked as part of the terminal expansion.

That has basically meant that we need to pause and review our plans but again were not going back in terms of what we want to do, which is creating additional capacity for automobiles, Mokheseng said.

The review of existing plans could mean the iconic Ocean Terminal Building may not need to be demolished. Transnet had obtained approval for its destruction in 2022.