Durban is South Africa’s most important port and the main maritime gateway for the continent. Over the last decades the Durban Container Terminal (DCT) has seen rise in operations due to the expanding global containerized trade. However, it remains underdeveloped compared to its peers around the globe. The enhanced container handling facilities of the DCT are needed to increase volume of the international trade and support regional economic growth.

The Project seeks to expand and modernize the DCT to achieve a shorter ship turnaround time, ability to handle larger vessels and an increased throughput.

The Project primarily consists of procurement and installation of modern cranes and other cargo handling equipment.

The Project will allow the DCT to handle larger vessels with gross tonnage of more than 100,000 tons or 9,000 TEUs (twenty-foot equivalent unit) capacity.

The land-based works are site-specific and expect to have moderate environmental and social impacts. However, the Project may include seaside works, including dredging of berths and channels, which can represent elevated environmental and social risks.

Hence, the Project is categorized as Category A in line with NDB’s Environment and Social Framework (ESF). Environmental and Social Impact Management Plan is developed for the Project to enhance community dialogue, improve transparency, and to fully comply with the country system requirements. Amongst other things, Transnet will be required to provide to NDB evidence of effective grievance mechanism, information disclosure and engagement with the community.

The total cost of the Project is estimated to be ZAR 12,000 million. Financing sources are as follows:

The Project implementation will take 7 years from 2020 till the end of 2027. Procurement will be carried out by Transnet in accordance with its existing procurement procedures and applicable South African legislation.