RELOCATION OF SA NAVAL BASE TO RICHARDS BAY PORT GAINS MOMENTUM

The relocation of the South African Navy base from the Port of Durban’s Salisbury Island to the Port of Richards Bay is moving full steam ahead. The South African National Defence Force (SANDF), SA Navy and Transnet National Ports Authority (TNPA) are working around the clock to ensure that the move is seamless and enhances the operating capabilities of the SA Navy while enabling the muchanticipated expansion plans for the ports of Durban and Richards Bay.

This milestone announcement came at an opportune time, as the SANDF launched the South African Armed Forces Day during the 2023 Multilateral Maritime Exercise in Richards Bay, taking place from 15 to 22 February 2023.

The event shines the spotlight on the Port of Richards Bay as the new premier home of the SA Navy in the province of KwaZulu-Natal.

“The hosting of these multilateral maritime exercises has given an added impetus on the teams working on the SA Navy relocation to accelerate the processes necessary to move the project forward. We are quite pleased with the level of collaboration that we are observing from both TNPA and the SA Navy, who jointly chair the steering committee and other operational committees, in ensuring the achievement of project objectives within the stipulated timeframes,” said Dr Bridgette Gasa-Toboti, Portfolio Director for the KwaZulu Natal-Logistics Hub (KZN-LH) Programme.

The relocation project, modestly estimated at an investment of more than R9 billion, is one of more than 30 mega projects that constitute the KZN Logistics Hub Programme. At the core of the Programme are two port masterplans which, outline the expansion ambitions of the Durban Port’s container and automotive capacity and Richards Bay dry bulk capacity.

The Port of Richards Bay is also developing a Liquified Natural Gas (LNG) terminal and other liquid bulk terminals within the South Dunes precinct.

“Projects of this nature are quite complex and require a lot of finesse and sensitivity in the delivery approach. Precisely because the SA Navy relocation project touches on the safety of our Republic, we have had to ensure that all key and strategic partners are fully on board,” continued Dr Gasa-Toboti.

Within the coming weeks, the TNPA and the SA Navy will enter into a memorandum of agreement which will be the last step before the actual project implementation starts.

Source : TNPA