Oiltanking Grindrod Calulo (OTGC) and the Transnet National Ports Authority
(TNPA) on Thursday turned the first sod at the site of the Port of
Ngqura’s future liquid bulk tank farm and main access road.
This comes ahead of the planned decommissioning and
rehabilitation of the existing liquid bulk facilities at the Port of Port Elizabeth, which will
pave the way for Ngqura’s establishment as a new petroleum trading
hub for Southern Africa.
The new tank farm is expected to provide storage and marine infrastructure to help
meet South Africa’s petroleum demand.
“Having been awarded the concession to develop a
liquid bulk storage and
handling facility in the Port of Ngqura, OTGC is now
embarking on the first phase of construction,” said OTGC chairperson Mkhuseli Faku.
“The terminal will be built to the highest
international safety standards and provide
exceptional service to its
customers. OTGC looks forward to
becoming a contributing member of the Nelson Mandela Bay community
and expects to continue on its growth path in the years ahead.”
Port of Ngqura port manager Tandi Lebakeng said: “As
the port landlord, TNPA is
providing port infrastructure for the liquid
bulk terminal to commence operations at the
end of 2020. The new tank farm will develop the Port of Ngqura’s liquid bulk
capacity for commodities such as petroleum, diesel, jet fuel,
illuminated paraffin and liquid petroleum gas (LPG).
“Once operational, the terminal will facilitate
substantially increased throughputs over present volumes handled due to
Ngqura’s deeper draught, enabling it to handle much larger vessels. The
allocated 20 ha site also
provides ample space for future expansion of the terminal,” she said.
Liquid bulk products will be
transported to the Port of Ngqura by ship and
piped to the tank farm prior to local supply and/or local and global re-export.
The new modern facility will service the oil majors, new entrants
into the South African oil industry, as well as
international traders – all supporting the local shipping industry.
To date, the contract for bulk earthworks has been
awarded and this activity will begin immediately.
Civil, mechanical and electrical contractors
will be appointed shortly and they will be employing from within the community
and developing skills within the construction industry.
It is anticipated that 500 local jobs will be
created during the construction phase of
the project and that the
total number of permanent staff required to operate the terminal will be in the
region of 50.
TNPA has already completed Phase 1 of the infrastructure required
to service the site.
Phase 2 started in November 2018 and includes the landside development forming
the link between the tank farm and the berth. The port authority will
provide infrastructure for the
new OTGC tank farm by equipping
Berth B100 to function as a liquid bulk berth.
It will also build a new access road from the
tank farm to the berth.
TNPA concluded an agreement with OTGC in late
2016 to plan, fund, build, own, maintain and operate the new facility after an
open and transparent tender process.
The OTGC design caters
for 200 000 m3 of bulk storage and final
total capacity of 790 000 m3.
Commissioning is planned for the end of 2020.http://www.engineeringnews.co.za/article/construction-gets-under-way-at-new-ngqura-liquid-bulk-terminal-2019-02-22
