South Africa’s State-owned Transnet National Ports Authority (TNPA) has shortlisted three consortia to participate in an upcoming bidding process to design, fund and construct a greenfield deep-water port at Boegoebaai in the Northern Cape, as well as rail infrastructure linking the port to mines in the province.
Located some 20 km south of Alexander Bay, which is close to the Namibian border, sun-drenched Boegoebaai has also been earmarked as a possible site for the development of a green-hydrogen hub.
The Boegoebaai Port & Rail Consortium, the Boegoebaai Development Consortium and the Project Elephant Consortium were named as the three consortia selected following a request for qualification process that was initiated in August last year and which attracted eight respondents.
TNPA did not immediately disclose the identities of the companies participating in the qualifying consortia, but revealed that the eight respondents included both local and international companies with engineering, construction, funding and logistics experience.
Boegoebaai programme director Magenthran Ruthenavelu indicated that the port and rail infrastructure would provide another export channel for mining commodities such as manganese and a possible outlet for the export of green-hydrogen derivatives such as green ammonia.
The Boegoebaai Green Hydrogen Development has been included as a Strategic Integrated Project, or SIP, for accelerated development under the country’s Infrastructure Development Act, while Sasol is leading a feasibility study to explore the potential of the site as an export hub for green ammonia
A request for proposals will now be issued to the qualifying respondents but no timeframe has as yet been provided for bid submission, financial close and construction.