This is a best prospect industry sector for this country. Includes a market overview and trade data.
Last Published: 7/14/2019

Overview

The South African Government views the country’s ports and terminals as key engines for economic growth.  South Africa is situated on one of the busiest international sea routes‚ critical to international maritime transportation‚ and its geographical location presents a huge opportunity for investing in a diversified maritime market. Transnet National Ports Authority (TNPA) which is one of five operating divisions of Transnet SOC Limited is responsible for the safe, effective and economically efficient functioning of the national ports system, encompassing eight commercial seaports, which it manages in a ‘landlord’ capacity. The various ports in South Africa have, for the calendar year 2018, accounted for 9,202 Vessel Arrivals, resulting in 700,671 ton of cargo and 488 329 TEUs moving through South Africa
Opportunities                                                                     
The first area of focus for Operation Phakisa, which was announced in June 2014, relates to maritime development of the ‘Blue Economy.’ There are four priority sectors for the Blue Economy: marine transport and manufacturing activities (coastal shipping, trans-shipment, boat building); offshore oil and gas exploration; aquaculture and marine protection services; and ocean governance. The South African Government has consulted with 180 stakeholders in the four priority areas to develop detailed plans of action for each sector. Operation Phakisa complements U.S. interests in protecting fragile ocean ecosystems and generating economic development through the utilization of South Africa’s abundant maritime resources. It is estimated that Operation Phakisa could create over a million sustainable jobs.

The Ports Authority has several additional development projects planned for the next five to ten years. One such project will deepen the entrance channel and widen it from 122 to 230 meters. The Ports Authority also plans to work with the municipality to build a R17 million bridge into the port. A dedicated car terminal for automobile transit will be created.

The Port of Durban is the busiest container terminal in Africa and the second busiest in the southern hemisphere following Melbourne, Australia. Over 4,000 commercial vessels called at the port’s 57 berths in 2017. Over the past five years, volumes have continued to increase due to the increasing number of automobiles exported from Durban by BMW and other car manufacturers in the region producing for export. The Durban Car Terminal, the largest import/export facility for the motor industry in South Africa, handled over 700,000 automobiles in 2013, a growth of 7.2% over the previous year. The Ports Authority alone employs 6,200 people at the Durban Port. This figure is expected to rise to over 9,000 by 2018/19 as the R300 billion Capex plans for expansion begin to yield benefit. Transnet estimates 71% of this budget will go towards increasing capacity to meet its projections for increased traffic. The Ports Authority estimates that over 30,000 are also employed indirectly. In addition to the container terminal, the port has a ship building and ship-repair facility, a yacht facility, a rail marshaling service, a sport facility, a Navy outpost on Salisbury Island (which the port is trying to obtain for civilian use), a protected mangrove, and a Port Academy that trains future employees. Ports Authority management is interested in exploring ways in which the port, particularly the Port Academy, can cooperate with the U.S. Government through various exchanges.

To the north of Durban in KwaZulu-Natal, Richard’s Bay is the busiest port in South Africa by tonnage and is one of the top two coal-handling ports in the world. Richard’s Bay focuses on bulk cargo handling while the Durban Port focuses on general cargo. It has also been earmarked for expansion projects with R3.7-billion had been set aside for mobile and quayside equipment, as well as weighbridges. Safety-critical, environmental and legal compliance projects would also be carried out. From a commercial point of view, this port is also looking at developing opportunities in oil and gas, ship/rig repair and maritime vessel building. Cape Town, located at the southern-most point of Africa, is ideally positioned as a hub terminal for cargo to South America and the Far East. West/East Africa cargo has grown substantially, making the Cape Town Container Terminal the terminal of choice for trans-shipment cargo.  The terminal handles 3,161 vessels per year for a gross tonnage of 44,501,297. Transnet National Ports Authority (TNPA) has selected the V&A Waterfront as the preferred bidder for the development of a cruise terminal at the Port of Cape Town. The V&A Waterfront would invest about R179-million to finance, design and develop the terminal, which would remain at E berth, Duncan Dock, in the Port of Cape Town. All international cruise liner vessels are required to dock at the Port of Cape Town as the first port of call in line with a directive from the Home Affairs Minister under the Immigration Act 13 of 2011.The upgraded Cape Town cruise terminal facility to be developed by V&A Waterfront will be a new gateway for tourism. About R1.2-billion on capacity-creating projects in Richards Bay will be set aside as Transnet pursues re-engineering of the port to create additional capacity for bulk products at the terminal.

The Port Elizabeth Container Terminal is one of the three specialized container-handling facilities along the South African coastline. Port Elizabeth serves the immediate area of the Eastern Cape, where its main business focuses on the needs and requirements of the motor vehicle and components industry as well as various agricultural products. The terminal offers value-added services in the form of storage, packing and unpacking of containers and logistics management. The terminal currently handles 1,271 ships with a total gross tonnage of 25,756,823. Transnet has also confirmed that it would relocate the current export manganese facility from Port Elizabeth to a new two-berth facility at the Port of Ngqura by 2015/16, to facilitate an expansion of South Africa’s manganese export capacity. As this move begins to get phased in, the port is exploring the untapped market of boat building in niche market of tug boats and navy vessels.

Sub-Sector Best Prospects                                                                                              

Transportation Equipment and Infrastructure:
  • Business Model Analysis
  • Port Mobile Cranes
  • Ship Repair
  • Cargo Handling Services
  • Weighbridges
  • Quayside Systems
  • Upgrading of Existing Port Equipment

Web Resources                                                                                                                  

Transnet
http://www.transnet.co.za

Transnet National Ports Authority
http://www.transnetnationalportsauthority.net/

Richard Bay Coal Terminal Consortium
http://www.rbct.co.za

For More Information, the U.S. Commercial Service, South Africa, can be contacted via email: 
Sanjay.Harryparshad@trade.gov, Phone: +27 (0)31 305 7600 X3150, or visit our Website at  http://export.gov/southafrica/index.asp

 
Prepared by our U.S. Embassies abroad. With its network of 108 offices across the United States and in more than 75 countries, the U.S. Commercial Service of the U.S. Department of Commerce utilizes its global presence and international marketing expertise to help U.S. companies sell their products and services worldwide. Locate the U.S. Commercial Service trade specialist in the U.S. nearest you by visiting http://export.gov/usoffices.


More Information

South Africa Distribution and Logistics Trade Development and Promotion