Progress with new liquid bulk facility at the Port of Ngqura
Transnet National Ports Authority (TNPA) has made progress on establishing the Port of Ngqura as a new petroleum trading hub for Southern Africa. Phase 2 of the development is set to commence next month.
Phase 2 includes the landside development – forming the link between the Tank Farm and the berth. The port authority will provide infrastructure for the new Oil Tanking Grindrod Calulo Holdings (OTGC) Tank Farm by equipping Berth B100 to function as a liquid bulk berth. It will also construct a new access road from the Tank Farm to the berth. TNPA will provide all the associated services and construct a new port entrance on the eastern side of the Couga River.
The project is a Joint Venture between Oiltanking, the Grindrod Group and Calulo.
TNPA has already completed Phase 1 of the infrastructure required to service the site, which included the construction of a new access road from the N2 to the location. TNPA also completed the detailed design of the new Port Entrance Plaza and the new main access road, including the pipe line servitude that will form the link between the new Tank Farm and the port.
According to the Build, Operate and Transfer (BOOT) agreement OTGC will plan, fund, construct, maintain and operate the new liquid bulk handling facility in the port. The concept engineering design and the relevant surveys have been completed and construction is due to start next month. The design caters for 200,000 cbm of bulk storage and final total capacity of 790,000 cbm. The planned commissioning is at the end of 2020.
Phase 1 catered for dedicated jetty pipelines, bulk storage for up to 200,000 cbm, road loading with a Vapour Recovery Unit (VRU), state-of-the-art firefighting facilities and site drainage facilities. Provision has been made for the receipt, storage and distribution of LPG.
This OTGC development in the Port of Ngqura will make way for the decommissioning and remediation of the existing liquid bulk facilities in the Port of PE. As part of the cut over strategy and subsequent to the commissioning of the Ngqura facility, the PE Tank Farm operators will wind down operations over a period of four months.
During this period it is envisaged that no further related shipments will be received in the Port of PE. TNPA is working closely with the PE Tank Farm operators to compile a decommissioning and remediation plan, which once approved by Department of Environmental Affairs, will be executed after the four month “winding down period.”
The estimated investment by OTGC for Phase 1 of the Port of Ngqura liquid bulk facility will be R800m ($55.2m). TNPA, being the port authority responsible for investment in basic port infrastructure, will invest R1.2bn in common user infrastructure for future terminal operators and port users at the Port of Ngqura’s Multi-Purpose Terminal (Finger Jetty) i.e. the B and C series berths in the port.
Berth B100 is the common user berth where liquid bulk vessels will call and where OTGC will install loading arms to load and discharge cargo for the liquid bulk facility.
For more information visit: www.transnetnationalportsauthority.net
12th October 2018
