Plans for expanding the Port of Durban’s container operations and berths to the area occupied by the naval base on Salisbury Island remain in limbo due to a lack of funding.The project was initially planned to be completed by 2026, but there has been little movement apart from a service provider having been appointed in 2024 to undertake pre-feasibility studies. The purpose of these studies is for the construction of a new naval base in Richards Bay and a satellite station in the Port of Durban as a patrol vessel base.Initial estimates put the cost of the move at R9 billion, but neither Transnet nor the Department of Defence seems willing or able to pick up the tab. There is no indication in the May 2025 budget, presented by Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana, that funds are being made available for the move. With the country facing a deficit of R57 billion, there is no room to take on new projects of that scale.Once cash-positive Transnet will run out of money for operations and debt-servicing within three months unless it gets a government bailout, Moody’s Ratings warned in May.The government’s primary focus is on fixing the existing logistics links. The May budget allocates R1.03 trillion for the next three years to public infrastructure, with the main beneficiaries being roads (R402 billion), energy (R219.2 billion), and water and sanitation (R156.3 billion). The main budget adds R33.7 billion for infrastructure projects over the medium term.The defence budget will effectively be cut from 2026, after the last of the South African forces leave the Democratic Republic of Congo.There is no reference to the planned Richards Bay move in the 2024/25 defence budget.The move is an integral part of the R89 billion KwaZulu-Natal Logistics Hub programme, which isexpected to initiate a formal procurement phase at the end of August 2025, according to TransportMinister Barbara Creecy.ER
