The need for expansion of the Durban Container Terminal

Abstract

The Durban Container Terminal (DCT) is currently the biggest and busiest container terminal in Africa and handles about 2.7-million twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs) a year (Naicker and Allopi 2015: 24). DCT handles approximately 70% of South Africa’s containers and generates 60% of South Africa’s revenue (Port of Durban, 2014).The existing Port of Durban is the leading port in the Southern African Development Community (SADC) region and the premiere trade gateway between South-South trade, Far East trade, Europe and USA and East-West Africa regional trade. It occupies a focal point in the Southern Africa transport and logistics chain with 60% of all imports and exports passing through the Port of Durban (Increasing South Africa\\\'s Economic Potential: 1). Thus the port assumes a leading role in facilitating economic growth in South Africa. Providing operating capacity ahead of the demand has become an essential element of managing national logistics capability in a fast changing and competitive global economic environment (Urban-Econ (PTY) Ltd 2012).In the South of Africa, ports suffer from insufficient storage spaces and long container dwell time, according to the Port Management Association of Eastern & Southern Africa (PMAESA), which is a regional grouping of ports in the two regions. PMAESA also adds that the ports continue to experience increased traffic and are not well served by access infrastructure (Africa embarks on massive expansion of sea ports, 2015).

South Africa is currently proposing a port expansion that will include the deepening and widening of berths 203 to 205 which will allow larger vessels to safely berth, thus increasing the overall economic production gained from the terminal (Urban-Econ (PTY) Ltd 2012). However, this expansion needs to take place urgently as the port is restricted to ships with a carrying capacity of less than 3 500 containers.