Durban - In a shocking announcement, the Transnet National Ports Authority revealed that it had failed to award a contract for development of the proposed new cruise terminal at the Durban port after receiving just one, unsuitable bid.
In the KwaZulu-Natal provincial government’s 2030 strategic plan the terminal had been listed as a catalytic development for the city’s waterfront.
Transnet and the eThekwini municipality planned the proposed passenger terminal along the North Pier just inside the harbour.
“It is envisaged that the terminal would dovetail with planned development around the Durban Point Waterfront and tourist attractions such as uShaka Marine World,” a statement said.
The plan would also see the terminal linked to holiday flats at the Point, including an extended beach promenade from Margaret Mncadi Avenue (Victoria Embankment) all the way to Umhlanga Rocks.
In the statement, Richard Vallihu, the chief executive of the port authority, said just one bid was received from a firm of architects, which was declared “administratively and substantially non-responsive”. He said two consecutive rounds of requests for proposals had “demonstrated that there may currently be limited appetite in the market for a private player to pursue the project”.
A spokeswoman for the Mediterranean Shipping Company, the dominant cruise ship operator in Durban, Ingrid Roding-Tudor, said the company would bid if there was another request for proposals later this year. She said because of the sensitive nature of the relationship between the company and Transnet she could not reveal why they had not submitted their bid during the previous two rounds.
Vallihu said the port authority would open the bid process again in six months and would also review the scope of the project. He did not detail how the scope would be reviewed.
The MEC for Economic Development, Tourism and Environmental Affairs, Mike Mabuyakhulu, said he was “very sad” about the announcement ,but was not despondent.
Alluding to the hugely successful V&A Waterfront in Cape Town, Mabuyakhulu said he agreed that Durban did not have a similar attraction, but plans to improve the city’s waterfront between now and 2030 should be attractive to investors wanting to develop and manage the proposed terminal.
He said he would meet the port authority soon to discuss the next move. There were a variety of options which included Transnet funding the development itself. “We will encourage Transnet to be steely in their resolve. There is also a possibility of a limited bid approach from (cruise line) companies operating elsewhere in the world.”
The Mercury