AFTER several delays, progress is being made in dealing with structural damage that crippled some operations at the Richards Bay Port terminal as a result of the fire incident in 2021 that damaged nine of the 86 conveyor routes, says Transnet Port Terminals’ chief executive Jabu Mdaki.
The terminal has been operating alternative cargo-handling methods for impacted commodities, running a hybrid operation of both skips and conveyors, since the incident.
Mdaki issued an update after meeting with customers from various mining companies to discuss plans to alleviate congestion at Richards Bay Terminals and the port precinct.
According to Mdaki, a contract to repair the facility has been awarded. The site meeting is scheduled to take place before the end of May. In the meanwhile, a contractor is removing damaged material from the conveyor belt. The belt is expected to commence operations before the end of the year.
“We thought it is of paramount importance that we have an engagement of this nature with our customers. We are always of the strong conviction that we should be available to listen to their concerns so that we will know where we need to tighten loose bolts. They have commended our interventions but equally raised concerns on certain issues. With these aggressive interventions we are very optimistic that the situation will be back to normal with speed. Chief among our interventions is the work underway to get the conveyor belt that was damaged by fire back into full operation before the end of the year. It was a fruitful engagement indeed and we invite all our customers to be free to raise their concerns because that will enable us to improve” said Mdaki.
As one of the interventions to reduce an avalanche of trucks to the terminal, acting managing executive, Reggie Mthembu, informed customers that the port has written to all mining companies that as from May 13, 2023, trucks that had not been booked in, will not be attended to. The truck booking system is one of the initiatives that the terminal came up with to alleviate congestion.
The chief executive conceded that the volume of trucks at the terminal had contributed substantially to the damage of the road surface in the port precinct. He said that a contractor had been appointed to repair road infrastructure. He also assured customers that work is underway to deal with the storm drainage system. This was in response to concerns raised regarding run-off water ending up in the stockpiles after heavy rains.
Mdaki also provided an update on the materials handling equipment contract. He pointed out that it was awarded and later challenged in court by a losing bidder, resulting in an interdict preventing its awarding. This resulted in everything grinding to a halt. He said the matter will be back in court very soon and customers will be kept abreast of developments. He commended them for bearing with TPT following these unforeseen circumstances.
Sprinkler systems have been reinstated at the terminal to minimise dust, with water tankers crisscrossing the terminals day and night, spraying water on the road surface. This exercise helps to prevent dust from being stirred up by typically windy conditions in the port precinct. Dust nets at stockpiles are also due to be installed soon.
The terminal marked a milestone with an increased its volume handling capacity in the past financial year, surpassing the 24 million ton declared terminal capacity. The results will be announced after audits are concluded. Mthembu said the management team and employees of the Richards Bay region were not going to take their foot off the pedal and would double their efforts to handle more volumes.
