Cape Town expansion on schedule

- Transnet Port Terminal reports that its R5.6bn (US$752m) five-year investment plan to increase the capacity of the Cape Town Container Terminal is progressing on schedule, including conversion of its container stacking yard operations from straddle carrier to rubber tyred gantries (RTG).

Over the past six months, 16 RTGs have been phased into the terminal with a further 16 machines earmarked for delivery during the second half of this year.

“The strategic advantage of the RTG is dense stacking - six rows wide, five containers high and 30 deep - thereby providing better utilisation of space,” says Moshe Motlohi, Cape Town Terminal executive.

The converted RTG blocks will increase stacking capacity by 40% to a total of 6,900 teu slots, increasing the current 740,000 teu terminal capacity to 1.4m teu by 2012. The first block (Block 10) was completed in October 2009, with two further blocks (Blocks 9 and D4) completed by December, utilising eight RTGs in total.

An additional 1,200 teu buffer storage is currently being provided in the old South African Container Depots yard adjacent to the container terminal, to enable further reconfiguration work on the long quay to commence next month (April) without disruption to operations.

The expansion programme, which started in January 2007 is expected to be completed in 2012.

(Source: Container Management)