Durban : Overview
Longitude & Latitude
Lat:29 ° 52 ’ S Long::31 ° 02 ’ E
Main features including water area
The Port of Durban has a total land and water area amounting to 1 854 hectares.The port is protected by the north and south breakwaters which are 335 m and 700 m long respectively. The water surface is 892 hectares at high tide and 679 hectares at low tide. The distance around the port is 21 km.Rail tracks total 302 km and it is one of the few cities in the world where the harbour is a mere block from the Central Business District. The port has 57 berths and over 4000 commercial vessels call at the port each year.It was developed primarily for import cargo but over the years cargo flows have changed significantly and exports have become more important.
Special features
Durban has become a major city in South Africa and the port the busiest on the African continent and the biggest in terms of container capacity.Strategically placed on the world shipping routes,the port plays a pivotal role in the life of the city.The Port of Durban,being South Africa ’s main general cargo and container port,handles 31,4 million tons of cargo worth more than R50 billion each year. Forty four per cent of South Africa ’s breakbulk cargo and 61 %of all containerised cargo flows through the Port of Durban and an average of 83 000 containers per month are handled at the Port of Durban container terminal,the largest in the southern hemisphere. The Port of Durban employs 6 000 people but approximately 30 000 people are directly dependent upon the port and its activities.
Port of Durban Development 2005
Since the developement of the Durban Container Terminal in 1977,it has experienced consistently high growth in volumes.Foredasts indicate continued strong growth in container volumes through the port in line with world trends.
The objectives of the Port of Durban Development 2005 are:
- to provide additional container handling capacity to meet future demand and
- the consolidation of general cargo handling facilities and the alignment of operations with best practices. pgrade Durban Container Terminal
Upgrade Durban Container Terminal
Upgrade Durban Container Terminanl to optimize capacity:
- Additional equipment (3 quayside cranes,20 straddle carriers)
- Equipment replacement programme
- Infrastructure improvements
The upgrade will increase the capacity of the terminal from 1.3 -1.6 million TEU ’s per annum. Thereafter additional capacity will be provided by the conversion of Pier 1.
City terminal Development
New deep-water quays to be developed in the City Terminal area (length -1 200 metres and 200 metres reclaimation).This will result in the consolidation of general cargo operations. The alignment of operations with the focus on best practices will result in:
- New and replaced equipment
- Re-model terminal infrastructure and layout
The development also makes provision for:
- The future relocation of the passenger terminal from an operational area to a site adjacent to the Point Waterfront Development (improving the port/city interface).
- A future tug basin
Convert Pier 1 for Container Handling
The conversion of Pier 1 for Container handling will encompass the following:
- The conversion of infrastructure and aquisition of equipment
- Additional container handling capacity of 325 000 TEU ’s per annum
- Convenient location to Durban Container Terminal
1. Good road and rail access
2. Optimize use of support facilities
These developments confirm the Port of Durban ’s status as the premier container handling port in Africa.The development will have significant multiplier effects on the economy of the city and beyond (creation of jobs during construction and operation).The project will also support the Durban Unicity ’s newly established Long Term Developement Strategy.