Motor industry will drive PE port growth A HIGH priority in the thoughts of Portnet management in Port Elizabeth this year is the go-ahead for the proposed new port at Coega, according to port manager Jan Jansen.
He believes that Billiton/Gencor - whose zinc refinery project is the main justification for the new deep-water harbour - is still positive about the development. However, Jansen said, we still need some more key players to come on-board. The latest news is that appropriate legislation is being prepared for submission to Parliament. But we need to get beyond this stage, said Jansen. All this initial detail must be finalised, and the actual port development given the green flag. The concept to be neatly planned and packaged is what Jansen wants to see, and a global marketing programme for the project to be put into place.
In Port Elizabeth itself, Jansen sees an urgent need for the port management to help facilitate the motor industry in the region, and to assist it in building up its exports. It's the main industrial player down here, he said, and will be a major driving force behind the future expansion of our port. In the development of PE's motor vehicle terminal, according to Jansen, the capacity is now sufficient to meet the present demand, and the expected future volumes.
We would also like to see bigger volumes of container traffic through the terminal, he added, and for us to become more involved in value-added services and logistics. This, as Jansen sees it, would be the development of a full-scale warehousing and distribution facility in-port. This with proper measures for full inventory control, he said.
Questioned on whether this would not be more appropriate as a private sector development, Jansen suggests that Portnet must lay the foundations for any future privatisation. It's certainly part of our thinking within Transnet, he said. The principle decisions have been taken at board level, and privatisation is certainly part of the future for all the group's divisions.
