Insufficient customer commitment has been cited by Oiltanking Grindrod Calulo (OTGC) for its decision to “stall” the development of a new liquid bulk terminal in the port of Ngqura.The long-delayed move of the outdated tank farm from Port Elizabeth was supposed to happen in the final quarter of this year.“To date, OTGC has not been able to secure sufficient customer commitment for the project. OTGC is therefore in a regrettable position that it is unable to execute on the project and is liaising with TNPA on the way forward,” OTGC says in a statement. When FTW drove past there was no sign of construction even though the land has been cleared and access roads built on the eastern slopes of a hill overlooking the port.OTGC is a joint venture between operating partner Oiltanking, a German multinational that is one of the largest independent operators of tank terminals for oils, gases and chemicals worldwide, and local partners Grindrod and Calulo Investments. Calulo is described as a diversified BBBEE investor in the petrochemical industry.The company was awarded the preferred bidder status in 2011 by Transnet National Ports Authority (TNPA) to develop the terminal to service fuel importers in the Nelson Mandela Bay region. According to a statement by OTGC, it has spent the last nine years “negotiating the build, own, operate and transfer (BOOT) agreement, engineering design of the terminal, obtaining commercial commitments from customers, negotiating funding with lenders, and obtaining the required regulatory permits for the construction of the project”. There was much fanfare when work started on the earthworks for the terminal in June 2019.T N PA corporate affairs manager Sakhiwo Te t y a n a confirmed to FTW that it had been “informed of the challenges experienced by OGTC to execute the project.“TNPA is committed to deliver enabling infrastructure to facilitate and enable the development of the terminal. “To date, TNPA has completed all the design work and all major construction work is in progress and scheduled to be completed by September 2020. “ T N PA is currently engaging OTGC, the PE oil companies, stakeholders and all the relevant authorities to formulate and implement a way forward.”In the meantime, plans for the redevelopment of the port of Port Elizabeth are on hold.These plans range from a small waterfront to a vehicle processing facility.
INSERT: All major construction work is in progress and scheduled to be completed by September 2020.– TNPA
