Transnet National Port Authority recently announced a R9.1-billion investment into three Eastern Cape ports over the next seven years. This project is already showing signs of increased automotive export capacity. The ports include Gqeberha, Ngqura and East London.
The Port of Gqeberha has been largely designated for the automotive sector, whereas Ngqura will become the transhipment and energy hub for South Africa. The investment into the East London port will help Mercedes-Benz – a customer of Formex – to cater for growth and increased exports.
The Automotive Industry Development Centre Eastern Cape (AIDC EC) has supported the investment as it will grow the region’s automotive sector and boost exports for South African manufacturers. Currently, the Eastern Cape accounts for half of South Africa’s automotive exports.
“Automotive growth and exports… is core to transformation, localisation and job creation in the Eastern Cape – one of the country’s most economically impoverished provinces,” says AIDC EC chief executive officer Thabo Shenxane. This entire project is promising for the automotive industry and its stakeholders, especially those located in the Eastern Cape.
More details of the port investment
Currently, Ngqura and Gqeberha ports are jointly managed under the guise of Nelson Mandela Bay port. Both of these hubs will receive a combined R4.8-billion, while the East London port has been allocated R4.3-billion. The three ports will also provide alternative energy and water to their surrounding special economic zones (SEZs), which will benefit other businesses and stakeholders.
The electricity and desalinated water proposals are currently under review and will be finalised towards the end of September 2022. “These proactive measures directly address the concerns of investors and current operators for a reliable and constant supply of water and electricity,” explains Shenxane.
The investment will also create an additional 3000 parking bays at the Port of Gqberha by the end of September, bringing the total capacity to 8000 vehicles. This will increase throughput from 150 000 to 280 000 vehicles a year, which will be exported globally.
New export record at port
The Port of Gqeberha has just set a record for the most vehicles moved in a single vessel. 5700 cars were loaded onto MV Silver Ray in June – the highest volume moved through the car terminal in one go. The previous record of 4500 vehicles was set in September 2019, before the Covid-19 pandemic began.
Transnet Port Terminals Eastern Cape managing executive, Wanda Vazi, states that this record can be attributed to close cooperation and planning between automotive manufacturers, the port authorities and customers. This process was a “seamless transaction” that relied on the precise sorting of vehicles before the European vessel arrived in port.
Vazi also applauds the operation team at the car terminal. They have achieved a weekly average of 200 vehicles moved per hour, which is an 11% increase in performance above their key performance indicator (KPI) target. Transnet reports that there has been an increase in demand for South African vehicle exports since the start of 2022.
“Overall automotive sector recovery from Covid-19 has been evident at all the country’s terminals, across both import and export streams,” says Vazi. The Port of Gqeberha currently exports Volkswagen, Isuzu, Ford, Audi, Porsche and Bentley vehicles, as well as Caterpillar equipment.
This expansion project will see increased exports for Formex customers, namely VW, Ford, Mercedes-Benz and Isuzu. For more information about our components and products, please contact us today.
Formex Industries is a metal forming and assembly company that supplies a variety of complex products to the local automotive industry and the export market. The company is based in the Nelson Mandela Bay metropole, South Africa’s foremost region for automotive manufacturing and export.
Formex is a Level 2 B-BBEE supplier. The company is owned by Deneb Investments Limited – a subsidiary of Hosken Consolidated Investments Limited (HCI) – one of South Africa’s biggest true B-BBEE companies listed on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE).
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