More than 100 attendees representing 97 companies have shown a keen interest in the Port of East London’s plans to recommission an existing tank in the port for the handling of liquid bulk and to introduce a liquid bulk terminal through a 25-year port concession awarded to a private entity, says State-owned Transnet.
The companies earlier this month attended a briefing hosted by Transnet National Ports Authority (TNPA), which recently advertised a request for proposals (RfP) with the intention of appointing a terminal operator to finance, recommission, operate and maintain the heavy fuel oil tank and to finance, design, develop, build, operate, maintain and then transfer to TNPA the liquid bulk terminal for the handling of liquid bulk cargo after a period of 25 years.
Speaking at the briefing, East London port manager Sharon Sijako said this process opened up the port to the petroleum industry.
The RfP is targeted at a new entrant or consortium that must have at least Level 4 broad-based black economic empowerment status, is at least 51% black-owned, at least 51% new-port-entrant-owned and, at most, 49% owned by cargo interest.
The deadline for interested parties to obtain RfP documents was last week and the RfP deadline is November 1.
Four oil majors currently operate in the Port of East London, with products including unleaded petrol, automotive diesel, kerosene and aviation fuel. The overall capacity is three-million kilolitres.
The existing tank on the port’s West Bank that is proposed for heavy fuel oil operations was commissioned in 1977 and has a working capacity of 7.6-million litres. It is envisaged that the liquid bulk terminal will be developed from its existing 8 000 m2 footprint to 21 000 m2 and that the operator will use the port’s existing tanker berth.