The Ngqura Container Terminal (NCT), which celebrated its first anniversary in October 2010, is undergoing expansion of its berth facilities.

Port operator Transnet Port Terminals (TPT) said the creation of an additional 100m of berth space over the next few months would allow the terminal to simultaneously berth two large vessels of 305m each in length. Currently NCT is able to berth one 305m vessel and one 275m vessel at the same time. The expansion is scheduled for completion by July 2011.

There was also the possibility for dredging of the quayside to take place so that two additional berths could be introduced. This would increase capacity from the existing 800 000 TEUs to two million TEUs and make the terminal a four-berth facility. But TPT said this would be dictated by port landlord Transnet National Ports Authority, which governs the 60 ha Port of Ngqura.

 TPT chief operating officer Nosipho Damasane said, "Volumes have far outstripped projections during the container terminal's first year of operation. Year to date figures show 259 vessels handled since October 2009 with an average of 1,100 TEUs each."

"NCT has handled a total of 288,812 TEUs from October 2009 to October 2010, of which 61% was transhipment cargo brought into South Africa for transfer to other vessels and ports. The remaining 31% was a mix of imports and exports," he said.

TPT's projection is to handle 409 659 TEUs by the end of the financial year. TPT acting chief executive Karl Socikwa said the volumes proved the success of Transnet's strategy of positioning the port as a major transhipment hub for the region.

"The Port of Ngqura is ideally located at the centre of trade routes for both African and global markets," he said. "Our strategy from the outset has been to position the port as a world class transhipment hub - the first of its kind in Southern Africa - as a means of growing the economy and bringing additional trade to our shores."

Socikwa said Transnet shared the bullish business sentiment and projections of its anchor customers at Ngqura, the two shipping lines MSC and MOL SA. Both had been instrumental in ramping up performance at the terminal, directing how operations would be deployed, and assisting Transnet with planning and training.

The lines were together running 8 line services per week through Ngqura.Damasane said other customers had expressed keen interest in bringing business to Ngqura after observing the stellar performance of the terminal in its first year. She said negotiations were well underway but were at a sensitive stage and details could not be divulged. 

The MSC Catania was then the first commercial vessel to berth at the terminal on 4 October 2009, followed two days later by the 275m MSC Shanghai. On November 1, 2009, the MOL Delight made its historic arrival at the Port of Ngqura as the first MOL vessel to call at the Ngqura Container Terminal. 

Damasane said the container terminal was "more than recovering its investment" and was "the pride of South African ports." 

Of R10 billion spent on development of the entire Port of Ngqura, between R2.5 and R3 billion had been spent on the container terminal only. Productivity during the first month of operation had averaged 20 GCH (gross container moves per hour). A year later it had notched up to 25 GCH. Ship working hours had improved from 41 SWH in October 2009 to 39 SWH in October 2010. 

NCT has been praised for its world class equipment and infrastructure which includes a stack capacity of 30 hectares or 5 509 container ground slots (with an additional 2 000 under development),  1 680 reefer slots for refrigerated cargo, six Mega Panamax ship to shore cranes, 22 rubber tyred gantry (RTG) cranes, an automated gate for smoother truck entry and faster turnaround, and the fully computerised Navis SPARCS N4 terminal operating system.  

Damasane said the container terminal had employed 313 operational and support staff plus 20 managers, with 98% of the staff from the Eastern Cape. Most of these were completely new appointments rather than drawn from existing Transnet resources. She said TPT's national planning office allowed flexibility to deploy vessels according to available berths nationally. 

New business opportunities created at the terminal included outsourced maintenance through partnering with original equipment manufacturers, as well as transportation and cleaning services.  The Port of Nqgura, is a pivotal element of the Coega Industrial Development Zone (IDZ), which also features sophisticated road and rail connectivity to provide a full inter-modal service. The IDZ is the largest in South Africa and has been recognised as having one of the world's foremost IDZ infrastructure systems. 

Transnet Port Terminals, an operating division of Transnet Ltd., is responsible for the development of the Eastern Cape's second port facility, working in close collaboration with other Transnet operating divisions to create an effective inter-modal system that provides service and capacity on an international scale.