State-of-the-art logistics terminal launched in Durban

President Cyril Ramaphosa attended the launch of the R3.4 billion Newlyn Park Bayhead Rail Terminal project at the Port of Durban on Thursday, describing the project as a good model of a public-private partnership.

Newlyn Investments, a leading South African developer of storage infrastructure in close proximity to both coastal and inland logistics hubs, at the 2018 investment conference, initially pledged an investment of R2bn in the redevelopment of the terminal.

The company, through its affiliate Unitainer, at last year’s investment conference also pledged an investment of R4bn for the development of a manganese storage and handling facility at the Coega Special Economic Zone, in Ngqura, Eastern Cape.

Ramaphosa said on Thursday that the project, which will facilitate the movement of sea, rail and road cargo through the Port of Durban via a multimodal hub, was a much-needed boost to South Africa’s logistics infrastructure network.

The facility will provide for the handling, storage, loading and movement of a variety of cargo.

“This terminal is also a symbol of recovery and resilience. For the city of Durban, for the eThekwini metro, for KwaZulu-Natal, and for the country at large.”

He said the Covid-19-pandemic, July 2021 unrest and devastating floods a year later had impacted on the province’s economy.

“We all recall seeing the images of the damage to the Port of Durban at the time, especially in and around Bayhead Road. We know the extensive work and effort it took to restore operations and to get the port and its associated infrastructure up and running again.

“We can all be immensely proud of what has been achieved here, and of the persevering, pioneering South African spirit that this new terminal embodies. It also illustrates what can be achieved when government and business work together,” Ramaphosa said.

He said the multi-product terminal is based on global best practice intermodal facility design, and is believed to be the single-largest warehouse development in South Africa to date.

The completed site consists of 640 000m2 of warehousing, rail sidings and open storage. The facility has the capability of receiving 7 full block trains of 100 TEUs (twenty-foot equivalent units) each daily.

“The terminal will facilitate the movement of sea, rail and road cargo through the Port of Durban via a multimodal hub providing for the handling, storage, loading and movement of a variety of cargo type.

“This includes hard and soft commodities in bulk and breakbulk, containerised cargo and project cargo. The embedded rail capacity in this terminal will accelerate the movement of cargo from road to rail in line with the objectives of the National Land Transport Framework,” Ramaphosa said.

He said the terminal has been built on land leased from Transnet, and the partnership with Newlyn will assist in improving operational efficiency across the board.

“This precinct will address some of the challenges we have been experiencing in the logistics, infrastructure and network industries that have had a negative impact on economic growth and job creation.”

Newlyn Group CEO Rajendra Balmakhun said the project will have trains and slots which will be made available to clients that will lead to a significant increase in revenue for Transnet through the migration of cargo from road to rail.

The terminal has more than 1 000 employees and this is expected to grow as the facility handles more cargo.

Balmakhun said logistics was the lifeblood of any economy and a key enabler for competitiveness and growth.

“Despite the logistics sector’s contribution to almost every facet of modern life, in South Africa the sector is being impacted through a crisis of under-investment in infrastructure, the unavailability of rolling stock, operational efficiency below global norms, crime and corruption that impacts on efficient operations.

“The Newlyn terminal is the physical manifestation of the execution capabilities of infrastructure companies and developers towards collaboration with Transnet in a symbiotic relationship to address our country's logistics needs by delivering world class facilities,” Balmakhun said.

The Mercury