A lot is riding on a mooted private-public partnership between the Transnet National Ports Authority (TNPA) and the business community of Nelson Mandela Bay and surrounding regions to help fix the city’s two ports.
Discussions between organised business and Transnet have seemingly been constructive, with talks of potential private-public partnerships to help the ailing entity.
It comes on the back of a World Bank report which ranked the ports of Ngqura and Port Elizabeth among some of the worst-performing ports when it comes to efficiencies.
The World Bank’s container port performance index assesses efficiency, focusing on the duration of container vessels’ stay in port.
The 2023 report compared the performance of ports from around the world.
SA’s ports were rooted at or near the bottom out of a total of 405 ports evaluated.
The Port of Ngqura (404) edged out Cape Town (405), ranked the worst-performing port in the world.
The Port of Port Elizabeth was the highest-ranked port in SA, at 391, while Durban placed at 399.
China’s Yangshan port was ranked the world’s best performer, followed by Oman’s Port of Salalah.
Though the TNPA has rejected the results in the report, saying there were several errors in the findings, some of the companies that make use of the ports every day said their experiences were testament to the fact that the report was accurate.
There are continuous problems, including broken equipment, that have affected shipping lines.
This is bad for business and does not bode well for the Bay as the only city in SA with two ports.
Other than cleaning house and ensuring that systems and efficiencies are improved at the ports, entering into partnership agreements with the private sector might be the quickest and most affordable way forward for the TNPA.
If positive changes are made, our hope is to see improved rankings in the 2024 World Bank report.
HeraldLIVE
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