Transnet

Transnet Port Terminals

Transnet Port Terminals was established in 2000, when Transnet's then single port division, Portnet, was divided into an operations and landlord businesses, namely SAPO and the National Ports Authority (NPA).

Now known as Transnet Port Terminals, it plays a key role in supporting the South African government's export-led growth strategy.

Most Southern African import and export commodities are handled through South Africa's six largest ports Richards Bay, Durban, Saldanha, Cape Town, Port Elizabeth and East London. Port Terminals not only handles these cargoes but implements logistics management solutions for its container, bulk, break-bulk (multi-purpose) and car terminal operations.

Port Terminals' major customers represent a broad spectrum of the economy and include the shipping industry, vehicle manufacturers, agriculture, timber and forest products, the mining industry and exporters of minerals, metals and granite.

Container Terminals

Durban, Africa's busiest port, has the southern hemisphere’s largest and best-equipped container terminal. Its capacity of some 1.3 million TEUs a year will be increased over the next three years to cope with the considerable growth in container traffic.

A third of South Africa's major container-handling facilities are at Port Elizabeth. This handles some 250 000 TEUs a year and specialises in cargoes for the vehicle manufacturing and vehicle components industries.

Close to the southern tip of Africa, Cape Town's container terminal is a well-located hub for traffic from the west, the northern hemisphere, South America and the Far East.

Car Terminals

Early in 2003 a new era began for the Durban car terminal (which handles two-thirds of all the vehicles leaving or entering South Africa). The event was the start of work on Durban's much-needed port expansion project. Included in this project was a three-storey structure, housing 3 800 additional parking bays and an overpass linking the car terminal with the quayside.

Breakbulk (Multi-Purpose) Terminals

Recent developments in breakbulk have included:

• Richards Bay: The break-bulk terminal has resulted from a merger of the bulk metal and combi terminals. The combined infrastructure has improved the terminal's handling of a variety of break-bulk, neo-bulk and containerised cargoes.
• Durban: The multi-purpose terminal, which handles break-bulk, bulk and containerised cargoes, has become this port's largest general cargo-handling facility.
• East London: The terminal is equipped to handle import, export and coastwise cargoes ranging from cars to livestock, wheat and other grain and scrap steel.
• Port Elizabeth: This port's multi-purpose terminal handles all types of units, free flowing and roll on/roll off cargoes, originating from and destined to the Eastern Cape's fruit hinterland and its vehicle and vehicle-component industries.
• Cape Town: Here, three terminals handle a variety of cargoes. The multi-purpose terminals specialise in inter-modal (land to sea, and sea to land) transport of general, bulk and containerised cargoes. The combi terminal is used mainly for fruit, fish, granite, timber, steel and copper cargoes. The bulk terminal is equipped to handle a range of grains, as well as cement, scrap steel and Bentonite.
• Saldanha: This multi-purpose terminal's principal cargoes are exported steel coils and imported steel pellets.

Visit the Transnet Port Terminals website