Richards Bay Port

[dysan1]

Richards Bay coal exports rise

Brendan Ryan | Tue, 04 Jan 2011 15:19




[miningmx.com] --

THE Richards Bay Coal Terminal (RBCT) pulled a little extra out of the hat in December when it exported 6.1 million tonnes (mt), bringing total exports for 2010 to 63.4mt.

That’s the best performance in three years. However, it only matches the volume of exports the terminal shifted in 1999, even though it now has the installed capacity to handle 91mt/year.

Exports through the terminal hit 10-year lows in 2009 – when the RBCT exported 61.1mt – and 2008, when it exported 61.7mt.

The terminal had budgeted to do at least 65mt this year, based on guarantees from Transnet Freight Rail (TFR) that it would deliver that volume of coal.

Transnet acting CEO Chris Wells made that commitment, based on the sustainable turnaround in operating efficiencies at TFR he said were finally achieved last year. However, TFR’s rail volumes were badly hit by the three-week strike in May.

RBCT CEO Raymond Chirwa said he was concerned that railings, on average, continued to remain well below the planned level of 65mt for 2010. He said the railed tonnage received in 2010 was 62.9mt, compared with 61mt in 2009.

He said: "The derailments, which occurred towards the end of last year, resulted in ships waiting for cargo as at December 31.

“This situation has also depleted our stocks to end at 1.7mt in 2010. This will have a definite impact on the first-quarter exports. We hope 2011 will be a continued better year for exports as dependent on the efficiency and improvements of railings.”

According to Chirwa, the RBCT exported 59% of its coal to Asian markets and 25% to European markets. A further breakdown shows that India imported 32% of the 63.4mt the RBCT exported, while China imported 11%.

The numbers underscore the growing importance of the Asian markets to the SA coal companies, whose traditional markets until now have been in Europe.

South Africa has an advantage in Europe over its major coal export competitor Australia because of lower freight costs while the Australians have a freight cost advantage into Asia, particularly China.

Chirwa pointed out that Europe took 46% of the RBCT’s exports in 2009 and 63% of exports in 2008.

He said: "The significant changing factor is the major economic development happening in China and India, requiring more electrical power and coal inputs into their major factories.”

What the RBCT does this year and for the foreseeable future is totally dependent on TFR meeting its railage forecasts, and also keeping to its planned capital expenditure programme to boost its capacity on the Witbank to Richards Bay line.

Wells was adamant in October that the productivity improvements on the line were sustainable, with TFR able to rail at a rate of 1.4mt/week “week in and week out”.

He estimated TFR’s current capacity on the line at about 71mt/year. He predicted TFR would rail 65mt to Richards Bay during its financial year to end-March and that “the final figure could be one or two million tonnes above that”.

He also said TFR had committed to spending R15.4bn to expand coal export capacity on the line to 81mt annually by 2014. Independent consultants Oliver Wyman were carrying out a study on likely demand for capacity on the line above 81mt to determine the timing of further expansion.

But Wells has now resigned as acting CEO and will leave Transnet at end-March, after a handing-over period to new chairperson Mafika Mkwanazi who is going to stand in as CEO until a new full-time appointment is made.

Transnet also has a new board of directors reporting to a new Minister for Public Enterprises - Malusi Gigaba - who replaced Barbara Hogan in the last cabinet reshuffle.

The mining industry must be hoping the new Transnet hierarchy is going to sustain the level of commitment to growing its major bulk commodity businesses - coal and iron ore.

http://www.miningmx.com/news/energy/...ports-rise.htm

[SA BOY]

when is the second export terminal going to happen. been hearing about it since i lived in RB

[dysan1]

To be honest, when focus went to Coega in the Eastern Cape, too many things for RB went on the back burner. Many of these appear to be resurfacing as people realise that RB has far more potential and a better future than political coega

[Diggerdog]

I like Coega, politcal or not. EC needs it, and more. Why you so anti, Dysan?

[SA BOY]

unrelated

[dysan1]

Originally Posted by Diggerdog

I like Coega, politcal or not. EC needs it, and more. Why you so anti, Dysan?

Lets rather talk about it in the Coega thread. I could go on for years why i dont like it, but now we need to try and make it work and even that seems very hard

[briker]

RBCT shelves expansion plans

Reuters | Wed, 30 Mar 2011


[miningmx.com] -- RICHARDS Bay Coal Terminal (RBCT) has shelved plans to increase export capacity until 2015 due to the slow pace of rail infrastructure expansion, the Business Report newspaper said on Wednesday.

South Africa is a major exporter of coal to power stations in Europe and Asia, but bottlenecks on the rail line leading to the Indian Ocean terminal are hampering shipments.

RBCT chief executive Raymond Chirwa said efforts to increase exports were frustrated because of limited infrastructure provided by state rail and logistics group Transnet.

"It would be irresponsible for RBCT to expand when the other items of the value chain have not expanded," Chirwa was quoted as saying.

"We can extend beyond 100 million tonnes a year but that depends on the performance of Transnet Freight Rail, which has not expanded its infrastructure to our 91 million tonnes capacity. At the moment there is a deficit in the rail."

An RBCT spokesperson could not immediately be reached for a comment.

Transnet has been investing heavily in new and improved infrastructure, but is still far from meeting annual RBCT capacity of 91 million tonnes.

In 2010, South African coal exports rose to 63.43 million tonnes, boosted by demand from China and India

[Leftfoot]

I did an interview with Raymond Chirwa last year just after they completed the Phase 5 expansion of RBCT. At that stage they were pretty optimistic about port expansion from NPA and Transnet.

I still need to find the source but there was some money allocated to increasing bulk handling capacity this year as they were concerned that there were too many ships at anchor.

[Leftfoot]

http://www.zululandobserver.co.za/Pages/f44story1.html


Richards Bay is set to lose its status as the most important port in southern Africa. The threat comes as a project by three southern African countries to build a rail network and rival harbour in Mozambique just 20km north of the KZN border gets off the ground. Business leaders approached for comment on how the development would affect Richards Bay, voiced their despair at the decades of mismanagement and neglect of this region, and bemoaned the lost opportunities costing the country dearly in terms of growth and jobs.

‘Ponta Techobanine poses a major threat in terms of what we are trying to achieve here,’ says Frans van der Walt, who founded the uThungulu Strategic Development Committee to try and solve the infrastructural challenges bedevilling the region. ‘Most businesses are here because of the port. If government keeps dragging its feet, many are likely to close or relocate. ‘The sad fact is the ports to the north competing with Richards Bay are just more efficient, and they have better infrastructure and resources. Our port is very inefficient.’

Growth restrictions
He cited the road and rail networks, and also the shortage of power supplies and water, as major factors restricting the port’s growth and efficiency. He believes that the only option for government is to enter Private Partnership Initiatives to resolve some of the issues around financing, planning and resources.

According to Mike Patterson, a past president of the Zululand Chamber of Commerce and Industry, the port is less than 40% developed. ‘It was built to be the premier port, the largest deep-water port on the east coast and a container trans-shipment hub, but something has gone wrong,’ he said.‘It’s very disheartening to see it come to nothing.’

Reservations
For some, the picture was not as bleak. Some voiced their reservations that the project would even see the light of day, especially as the proposed network runs through a lawless and insecure part of Africa. Over a thousand kilometres of railway line would be almost impossible to secure, one pointed out. Also, the R54-billion project will take 10 years to complete, by which time the South African infrastructure could have been improved, especially if the South African government responded proactively to the threat.

The development is controversial in that it is to be situated in the heart of a conservation zone, and set to scupper the success of the Lubombo Transfrontier conservation project that South Africa co-created 10 years ago. The deep-water port is to be dug inside the Maputo Elephant Reserve and neighbouring Ponto do Ouro marine reserve. The railway line will also run through the centre of a newly-proclaimed elephant migration corridor to South Africa.

Construction is set to begin next year on the 1 100km rail network, the Ponta Techobanine Inter-Regional Heavy Haul Railway Project, that will connect Zimbabwe and Botswana to the deep-sea port, Ponta Techobanine. The Mozambican government has already gazetted the boundaries of a 30 000ha oil-and-coal harbour and industrial zone.
The rail network is to run from Botswana through Zimbabwe and into Mozambique and Malawi.

It is said that Swaziland may also use the facility. Part of the plan is that new rail and pipe lines will ferry coal, crude oil, liquid fuels and other goods between the countries, bypassing South African harbours as well as Maputo. India and China are envisaged to be the main importers of the goods.

[dysan1]

‘Don’t sideline Richards Bay’
February 15 2012 at 12:41pm
By Suren Naidoo and Marie Strachan

INLSA

Business and municipal leaders in Richards Bay have appealed to the national government not to sideline the area and to build a new container terminal in the Zululand port as part of government’s massive infrastructure investment drive.

Their call follows President Jacob Zuma’s announcement in his State of the Nation address last week that the government would be spending R300 billion on infrastructure projects over the next five years.

“We want a fair share of the action. For too long Richards Bay has been sidelined, despite its huge potential,” said Charmayne Pountney, CEO of the Zululand Chamber of Commerce and Industry.

In December, Public Enterprises Minister Malusi Gigaba announced a further R3bn investment in upgrades to the Port of Richards Bay. Transnet documents also show more than R12bn would be spent on upgrades for the port over the next seven years, but no money has been earmarked for a container terminal.

“That’s a concern for us… Transnet is investing billions in upgrading facilities into and at the port of Richards Bay, but none of this is for new capital projects that will open up new economic opportunities for the area. As the Zululand Chamber, we are upping the ante in calling for a fully fledged container terminal.

“We have a Cinderella container operation in Richards Bay run through the multi-purpose terminal… If we want to be taken seriously and get investment into our Industrial Development Zone (IDZ) we need a reasonably sized, dedicated container terminal here,” she said.

“With the priority being placed on already established hubs like Durban, with big projects like the dig-out port and the industrial corridor with Joburg, we fear Richards Bay will be pushed further to the sidelines. We can’t allow this to happen… The most frustrating thing is that at our port there is more than 70 percent of the land available for leasing, unlike Durban where there is very little land available.

“A few years back, the old Transnet leadership told us we can forget about a container terminal in Richards Bay. But now we’ve got the container terminal back on the radar of provincial government and need to continue to be the nagging voice and to motivate for this as the local business community.”

Pountney said a container terminal would be a major boost to the IDZ. “There is no question that a container terminal will stimulate the manufacturing sector in Richards Bay… In fact, it will support other sectors such as agriculture. A terminal with refrigeration facilities for fruit and vegetable exports would work. Our citrus farmers from neighbouring Nkwaleni used to export via Durban. But it became too expensive and now they don’t grow oranges or export,” she said.

Elphas Mbatha, mayor of uMhlathuze, also expressed concern during Gigaba’s recent visit that Richards Bay continued to be sidelined when it came to major infrastructure investment. He said the National Transport Master Plan recommended Richards Bay should handle 40 percent of KZN’s containers and Durban 60 percent. He urged Gigaba to give a container terminal “serious consideration”.

Mbatha said the huge investment in the Port of Ngqura (Coega) in the Eastern Cape had been a political one: “There were no volumes requested to prove the need for a container terminal development at Ngqura… There was huge investment in Ngqura, but the Richards Bay IDZ only received more funding two years ago.”

Gigaba had told the mayor his department would conduct a study to determine whether there was a need for a container terminal. “There are other considerations to bear in mind such as the role each port plays in the value chain and their distance from each other. We come under pressure from a range of parties all demanding infrastructure investments. We have to consider all the options,” he said.

Gary Bell, managing director of Bell Equipment, said he fully backed the call for a container terminal. “We use a couple of hundred containers annually for both importing parts as well as exporting machinery, parts and components. There would surely be a cost benefit for them to be handled through Richards Bay as opposed to Durban. A local container terminal would also improve our turnaround time while taking a load off from the congestion in the Durban port,” he added.


http://www.iol.co.za/mercury/don-t-s...-bay-1.1234921

[Leftfoot]

http://www.zululandobserver.co.za/Pages/f16story2.html

Dry dock debacle
STORY: Dave Savides

Cancellation of R4.2-billion project contested
City Mayor, Cllr Elphas Mbatha says he will fight to get Richards Bay’s cancelled R4.2-billion dry dock back on the table. After a 10-year battle to get the project up and running, the developers were officially informed by Transnet in mid-February that signing of the lease agreement would not take place. This despite the fact that the tender for the dry dock/ship repair facility had already been awarded to the Imbani Consortium. The Draft Lease Agreement had been signed and finalisation appeared a formality, but they have now been told the final lease could not be signed as it stated a 25-year lease and Transnet apparently only enters into lease agreements for a maximum 20 years.

A spokesperson for the consortium said they have not yet responded to Transnet, pending consultation with their many business partners. But Mbatha believes the project is not beyond salvaging, and is determined to get it back on track. ‘There are huge benefits at stake for the City and region and there are distinct synergies with the IDZ/Special Economic Zone. ‘We cannot afford to let this opportunity be missed,’ said Mbatha. Imbani has already invested around R20-million in feasibility studies, EIAs and all else demanded by Transnet.

The consortium’s heavyweight partners are also on hold. They include potential funders the Industrial Development Corporation (IDC) and the Public Investment Corporation (PIC), Group Five and Imbani Holdings as well as EXIM bank of China, due the participation of China Harbour Engineering Construction (CHEC) in the supply and installation of machinery and equipment sourced from China.

The development of the ship repair facility at Richards Bay would create a significant number of jobs, first during the construction period with numbers varying from 6 000 up to 12 000 depending on the stage of construction. Permanent jobs will be created during the operation period with numbers of people employed going up to 4 000. For a decade, the Zululand Observer has been at the forefront of documenting the various stages of the dry dock proposal, the signing of which lease was on many occasions declared as ‘just weeks away’. Lack of support for the project at a political level has been especially disappointing.

ZO follows 10-year project

•2002: Imbani Projects began coordinating the planning and execution of the Richards Bay ship repair project, otherwise known as the dry dock
•2003: The Imbani Consortium was awarded preferred bidder status and requested by Transnet National Ports Authority (TNPA) to prepare a detailed feasibility study and business plan for the development
•2004: Imbani submitted its study, which was accepted by TNPA. Various administrative matters, including a decision to enforce a Land Lease Agreement, resulting in a delay in getting the development off the ground
•2009: TNPA instructed Imbani to revive the project, on condition that it was still viable
•2010: Imbani commissioned Scott Wilson to do an update to the feasibility study, which was submitted to TNPA early 2010
•2010: TNPA drew up a draft lease agreement which was discussed with Imbani and this was subsequently submitted to Transnet by TNPA with their recommendation that it should be approved
•2011: Imbani accepted TNPA’s draft lease agreement and were left waiting over six months for a response
•2011: Imbani were informed verbally on 14 December by Ports Authority, of the decision by the group CEO to cancel and re-tender the development. Transnet CEO Brian Molefe made the announcement public at a business breakfast in Richards Bay in December
•2012: Imbani received official, written notification of the cancellation in mid-February.

[Lydon]

SA reaches multibillion-dollar port and ship deal
27 March 2013 11:47

South Africa has reached a deal valued at several billion dollars to build and repair ships at its Richards Bay port with China’s Chery Holdings, affiliated with the automaker, according to documents obtained by Reuters today.

The final terms of the deal were being worked out at a meeting of the leaders of the Brics emerging market powers in the South African coastal city of Durban, a senior South African government official said.

Other partners include South Africa’s Industrial Development Corporation, the China Development Bank, the China Africa Development Fund and Imbani Holdings.

The deal is aimed at “developing a completely new ship building and repair facility”, the documents said.

South Africa has been pushing to expand the port, which is a major export point for coal, to attract new industry and create jobs in an economy that has seen its unemployment rate stuck at about 25% for years.

A day earlier, the China Development Bank agreed to lend South African state rail freight group Transnet up to $5 billion (R46 billion) to revamp ageing rail lines, used to carry commodities such as coal and iron ore, a source close to the deal said.

China is South Africa’s biggest bilateral trade partner and imports massive quantities of commodities from Africa’s largest economy.

The Brics countries – Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa – are looking to grow African economies and set up a joint development bank at their summit, which ends today.

- Reuters

Source: CityPress

[Leftfoot]

This is very good news methinks. Its been a long time coming. My only concern is China's huge involvement in Africa. Is this a good or bad thing? Are they taking over the world as we know it?

[Leftfoot]

..to add to that.


The long-awaited dry dock project at the Port of Richards Bay has at last been given the green light. Ecstatic developers Imbani Holdings, who have been trying to tie the deal with Transnet National Ports Authority since 2002, told the Zululand Observer on Wednesday afternoon a memorandum of understanding had been signed between their principals and their Chinese partners after a presentation at the Brics conference in Durban.

‘The Department of Trade and Industry has been a wonderful facilitator of this R5-billion deal, which will provide some 8 000 jobs on completion,’ said Imbani Holdings Director, Ebenezer Moahloli. The Imbani consortium, which includes the Industrial Development Corporation, has added plenty of muscle to its original bid, bringing on board the Wuhu Xinlian Shipbuilding Co, a subsidiary of Chery Group of China as well as the Development Bank of China and the China-Africa Development Fund.

‘The way forward is now open and the first step is negotiations with Transnet on a new, larger site for the project since it now includes a ship building component as well as the original ship repair facility,’ said Moahloli. Imbani has already spent millions of rands on research, feasibility studies, business plans and geotechnical investigation.

City of uMhlathuze Mayor Cllr Elphas Mbatha, who has been a staunch lobbyist for the dry dock and has hosted Chinese delegations who expressed interest in investing locally, was elated on hearing the news. ‘This is wonderful – it has made my year, not just my day! ‘This is truly something to cheer about after waiting so long, a huge boost to our economy.

http://www.zululandobserver.co.za/Pages/f13story1.html

[dysan1]

Seems ALOT of big things for KZN have come out of the BRICS meeting. This is very good for RB and i think should become the focal ship construction point and remove this activity from Durban Harbour, allowing Durban to focus on containers and ship repair

[romanSA]

Very good news! KZN's economy finally getting the boost it has been needing for so long. 8,000 jobs will be excellent for such a relatively poor area,