A CONCRETE FLOOR is being laid on the floor of what will become the break-bulk berth at the Coega deep-water port. Work has also started on the walls of the first quay for the R3,2-billion project to build the port of Ngqura to serve the Coega Industrial Development Zone (IDZ) outside Port Elizabeth. The first berth will have a depth of 16,5 metres. It is being constructed “in the dry” after engineers built a waterproof wall to keep out the sea while construction is continuing. This method is faster and more cost-effective than carrying out construction work “in the wet,” according to National Ports Authority project director Kgoadi Malatse. In phase one of the port construction, there will be two break-bulk berths, one liquid bulk berth and two container berths. According to Malatse, construction is on schedule to be completed in 2005. He says some 5,5 million cubic metres of sand has been excavated since contractors moved on site in September 2002. The land excavation for the quay walls and basins will ultimately move approximately 11 million cubic metres of sand. Included in the design is the third sand bypass system of its kind in the world. The system will facilitate the natural flow of sand around Algoa Bay by pumping it from the west side of the harbour to the east. Malatse says the next phase of construction is the dredging of the entrance channel and inner harbour basin, as well as the building of the landside infrastructure which comprises roads, bridges and services. The first ship which is due to dock in September 2004 will be carrying components for a proposed two billion dollar aluminium smelter in the Coega IDZ. The first commercial services should start a year later.