Photo by: Duane Daws
The Transnet National Ports Authority (TNPA) would not be building a separate coal terminal in Richards Bay to service junior miners at this time, but would rather look at expanding and refurbishing the Transnet Dry Bulk Terminal (DBT), in Richards Bay, TNPA chief planner Nimi Ramchand said on Thursday.
Transnet first indicated in October last year that it was considering building another coal terminal adjacent to the Richards Bay Coal Terminal (RBCT) to serve juniors, when Transnet group CEO Brian Molefe said too few emerging coal juniors were being allowed to put their coal through RBCT into global markets.
However, Ramchand, speaking at the Heavy Haul Rail Africa 2014 conference, in Sandton, said Transnet had researched the possibility of building an additional terminal, but found that “the demand for port facilities for coal was actually a bit overstated”.
Also, TNPA already had the DBT, which also handled coal and had capacity for expansion to increase the volumes of coal handled in future, she said.
“We still have capacity for coal [at the DBT] and, therefore, there isn’t a need at the moment to invest in a dedicated coal facility, other than [the] expansions and refurbishments at the current DBT,” she stated.
Ramchand added that the expansions at the DBT were already being planned and TNPA was about three or four months away from making an investment decision.