NGQURA CONTAINER TERMINAL GAINING MOMENTUM

A combination of expert management and state-of-the-art equipment could see Ngqura container terminal (NCT) in South Africa positioning itself as a major container hub for sub-Saharan Africa. So says Transnet Port Terminals' Chief of Operations, Solly Letsoalo.

"With growing pressure on the container sector and projections that demand for containerised cargo will double over the next eight years, Transnet has invested in excess of R8 billion  to date to position NCT as South Africa's flagship terminal. Its projected end state capacity is two million TEUs. Currently the terminal boasts a capacity of 800 000 TEUs and by 2015 this will have increased to 1.5 million TEUs," he said.

In its entirety, Transnet's 60 000 ha terminal will include a 16.5 metre draft alongside berth, enabling it to accommodate new generation vessels of 8 000 to 9 000 TEUs. Coupled with the quicker cargo handling capacity, faster turnaround times and high density stacking area promised by the terminal's planned rubber-tyred gantry (RTG) crane operation, this will have tremendous economic spin-offs for the Eastern Cape region.

The shell of the terminal has long since started taking shape. Terminal buildings and supporting infrastructure have made significant progress, with the four-storey administration building, temporary engineering workshop and reefer frames that will hold 1680 reefer points for refrigerated cargo, almost ready for handover later this year.

Progress on the equipment front includes the delivery of components of the terminal's 22 RTG cranes and six Megamax ship-to-shore cranes late last year. NCT will be the third of four container terminals in South Africa to operate RTGs and the first to boast the massive, 110m high Megamax ship to shore (STS) cranes, which are able to service vessels with up to 22 containers stacked across their width.

Of eight RTGs to have reached the terminal to date, four are already in various stages of assembly. Two of these will be commissioned in February 2009, along with two of the six STS cranes that have arrived since late last year.

The commissioned cranes will be used in Ngqura's aggressive recruitment and training programme for Operators of Lifting Equipment (OLE's), alongside the R6.7m advanced training simulator introduced at Pier 1 last year and now holding pride of place at NCT. The fully computerised simulator enables crane operators to hone their skills and work towards productivity targets, without interrupting normal operations or causing millions of rands worth of damage to equipment.

NCT's OLE programme is on track and is aimed at fast-tracking skills to ensure that adequate resources are available to handle the high tech equipment on order for this terminal.

Sixty operators started in January 2009. In addition, two operations managers and an electrical engineer have also been appointed, and eleven expert planners will commence in February.

Marine services are also on track. June 2009 will see the handover of the first two of four berths as Phase 1A of the project comes to a close. The remaining two are expected to be handed over at the end of Phase 1B together with the road and inland rail networks in September 2011. The average quayside target will be 100 moves per ship working performance hour.

In line with Transnet's corridor plan, or routes of port-rail integration, NCT's intermodal connectivity includes a dedicated Johannesburg to Ngqura rail corridor. This will be served by a rail terminal comprising dedicated infrastructure and rolling stock, a marshalling yard, mainline connection and upgrades to the hinterland network, collectively promising efficient rail turnaround of under six hours. The rail infrastructure will also include two rail mounted gantry (RMG) cranes that span four railway tracks with a wheel span of 22.5m. NCT's rail operations will commence by October 2009.

New appointments at Ngqura Container Terminal include the appointment of Sylvester Augustine as Senior Operations Manager supported by two Operations Managers, as well as Tony Lottering as the Chief Maintenance Engineer. Hector Danisa, Business Unit Executive of the Port Elizabeth terminals, will also be playing a caretaking role as BUE at NCT until further notice.