Work on the Port of Ngqura, the deep-water port being built just north of Port Elizabeth, will be completed by March, five months later than first thought, and will cost R1 billion more than previously estimated. It will be operational by 2008.

Chris Matchett, the National Port Authority's resident engineer at the port, said last week: "The latest estimate for completing the project is now R4.1 billion."

The project was initially expected to cost R3.2 billion. To date, R2.6 billion has been spent.

Already completed are five berths and 3.8km of breakwaters. The mammoth construction project included moving 25 million cubic metres of sand to create the harbour.

Delays have been caused by, among other things, constructing the sand bypass system, which will assist in preventing a build-up of sand.

Matchett said that once this was completed, a port control tower, an entrance building and a basin for tugs would need to be built and tugs procured. This would cost about R800 million.

He said: "Funds for this still need to be approved. We are looking at about 18 to 24 months for Ngqura to be a functional port."

Besides break bulk and liquid bulk terminals, the Port of Ngqura will have a container terminal. It will initially have two berths with a capacity to handle 500 000 twenty-foot equivalent units (teus) a year.

Phase two of the project will include procuring equipment for the container terminal.

Mervin Chetty, the chief strategy officer of SA Port Operations (Sapo), said: "By the end of the month Sapo will have a business plan and an operational plan for the container terminal." This would include the type of equipment needed.

Chetty said that once funds had been approved and equipment procured it would take between 18 and 24 months to take delivery.

"We are pushing hard to have the container terminal operational in 2008. It is dependent on the lead time for equipment."

The port will have a draught of 16m, which means it will be handle the new generation of container vessels. The container terminal will be established as a transshipment hub.

Chetty said: "It will be ideally situated as a transshipment hub servicing traffic from west Africa, South America and the East. It will have the highest quality infrastructure and equipment, attracting vessels of more than 5 000 teus."

The port was initially planned to serve an aluminium smelter to be built by Pechiney. However, after construction began, Pechiney was bought by Canadian group Alcan, throwing the planned smelter into question. There is still no clarity on whether the smelter will proceed.

Matchett said: "We had three years to build the port in terms of Pechiney's time frame."