Port of Cape Town Update: Transnet partnership with Maersk signals welcomed move towards private sector participation

9 November 2023

Today, during a meeting of the Standing Committee on Finance, Economic Opportunities and Tourism, Transnet revealed that the entity is partnering with Maersk to develop vacant land at Transnet Park, to enhance rail volumes between Belcon Precinct and the Port of Cape Town.

The facility at Belcon will offer warehousing, cold storage, reefer capacity, and container depots, and will be run by logistics giant - Maersk.

This is a clear move towards private participation at the Port’s operations, which is urgently needed to improve its efficiency.

Transnet also provided an update on their 8-point plan to improve the Port, which they first presented to the Committee on 6 June 2023.

Unfortunately, little progress has been made in the interim, with the vast majority of targets, such as efforts to combat the effects of high swells with helicopter deployments, as well investigations into the mitigation of the effects of fog on operations, still at various stages of implementation.

One of the biggest challenges at the Port remains a shortage of rubber-tyred gantry (RTG) cranes, which are used to move containers around the port, with an average of 15 being operational during the period from June to September. This is lower than the average of 19 operational RTG’s that Transnet maintained last year.

There is some relief on the way, with 7 refurbished RTGs set to arrive from Los Angeles in December, bringing the total at the Port to 29, should all be operational at the same time, which has been very challenging. The optimal number of RTGs for a port the size of the Port of Cape Town is 32.

The DA in the Western Cape will closely be following the developments at the Port, and the success of private sector participation at Belcon. A functional Port is absolutely crucial to the Western Cape economy, and improvements at the Port will have huge positive knock-on effects on employment in the province. It is vital that Transnet continue to involve the private sector - improving efficiency.

Issued by Cayla Murray, DA Western Cape Spokesperson on Finance, Economic Opportunities and Tourism, 9 November 2023