MANILA, Philippines — The International Container Terminal Services Inc. (ICTSI) has won the contract to develop and operate the second pier of the Port of Durban, the largest of its kind in Africa.
In a regulatory filing, ICTSI said that it was chosen as the preferred bidder for the operations and maintenance of Durban Container Terminal (DCT) Pier 2 at the Port of Durban in South Africa.
State-run Transnet SOC Ltd. awarded to ICTSI the contract to put up a 25-year joint venture with Transnet Port Terminals (TPT) for the expansion of its flagship DCT Pier 2.
Transnet owns and operates most of South Africa’s transport infrastructure, particularly railways, pipelines and ports. Transnet is managed by South Africa’s Department of Public Enterprises and serves as the parent of multiple subsidiaries, including TPT.
DCT Pier 2 is the largest container terminal operated by Transnet, as it handles 72 percent of the cargo throughput at the Port of Durban. Also, DCT Pier 2 accounts for 46 percent of port traffic across the whole of South Africa.
Once the deal is finished, ICTSI will add to its portfolio a container terminal that stretches 1,760 meters in quay length and 120 hectares of container storage and backup area.
As reported by Bloomberg, Transnet will own 50 percent plus one share in the joint venture with ICTSI and they will work on increasing the yearly capacity of DCT Pier 2 to 2.8 million TEUs.
“Final award is subject to completion of legal agreements between Transnet and ICTSI,” ICTSI said.
South Africa is moving to privatize some of its ports as a way to improve logistics performance. The country was flagged several times for the inefficiency of its shipping facilities.
In 2021, the Port of Durban ranked 364th out of 370 ports across the globe in terms of efficiency, according to the World Bank’s Container Port Performance Index. Likewise, most African ports landed last in the measure, with the Port of Matadi scoring the highest at 171st.
In April, ICTSI chairman and president Enrique Razon Jr. announced that the firm plans to return to expansion mode soon after holding off a number of projects at the height of the pandemic.
After investing $386.35 million last year, ICTSI aims to spend $400 million for capital expenditures in 2023, as it seeks to enhance existing terminals and put up new ones across the six continents it operates in.