Oiltanking Grindrod Calulo (OTGC) and the Transnet National Ports Authority (TNPA) on Thursday turned the first sod at the site of the Port of Ngqura’s future liquid bulk tank farm and main access road.

This comes ahead of the planned decommissioning and rehabilitation of the existing liquid bulk facilities at the neighbouring Port of Port Elizabeth, which will pave the way for Ngqura’s establishment as a new petroleum trading hub for Southern Africa.

The new tank farm is expected to provide storage and marine infrastructure to help meet South Africa’s petroleum demand.

“Having been awarded the concession to develop a liquid bulk storage and handling facility in the Port of Ngqura, OTGC is now embarking on the first phase of construction,” said OTGC chairperson Mkhuseli Faku.

“The terminal will be built to the highest international safety standards and provide exceptional service to its customers. OTGC looks forward to becoming a contributing member of the Nelson Mandela Bay community and expects to continue on its growth path in the years ahead.”

Port of Ngqura port manager Tandi Lebakeng welcomed the start of construction.

“As the port landlord, TNPA is providing port infrastructure for the liquid bulk terminal to commence operations at the end of 2020. The new tank farm will develop the Port of Ngqura’s liquid bulk capacity for commodities such as petroleum, diesel, jet fuel, illuminated paraffin and liquid petroleum gas (LPG).

Once operational, the terminal will facilitate substantially increased throughputs over present volumes handled at Port Elizabeth due to Ngqura's deeper draught, which allows it to handle much larger vessels. The allocated 20 ha site also provides ample space for future expansion of the terminal,” she said.

Liquid bulk products will be transported to the Port of Ngqura by ship and piped to the tank farm prior to local supply and/or local and global re-export.

The new modern facility will service the oil majors, new entrants into the South African oil industry, as well as international traders – all supporting the local shipping industry.

To date, the contract for bulk earthworks has been awarded and this activity will begin immediately.

Civil, mechanical and electrical contractors will be appointed shortly and they will be employing from within the community and developing skills within the construction industry.

It is anticipated that 500 local jobs will be created during the construction phase of the project and that the total number of permanent staff required to operate the terminal will be in the region of 50.

TNPA’S ROLE

TNPA has already completed Phase 1 of the infrastructure required to service the site, including the detailed design of the new port entrance plaza and the new main access road, as well as the pipeline servitude that will form the link between the new tank farm and the port.

Phase 2 started in November 2018 and includes the landside development forming the link between the tank farm and the berth. The port authority will provide infrastructure for the new OTGC tank farm by equipping Berth B100 to function as a liquid bulk berth.

It will also build a new access road from the tank farm to the berth.

TNPA will provide all the associated services and build a new port entrance on the eastern side of the Kouga river.

OTGC’S ROLE

TNPA concluded an agreement with OTGC in late 2016 to plan, fund, build, own, maintain and operate the new facility after an open and transparent tender process.

The OTGC design caters for 200 000 m3 of bulk storage and final total capacity of 790 000 m3. Commissioning is planned for the end of 2020.

Phase 1 will cater for dedicated jetty pipelines, bulk storage for up to 200 000 m3, road loading with a vapour recovery unit, firefighting facilities and site drainage facilities.

Provision has been made for the receipt, storage and distribution of LPG.

The infrastructure will be designed to accommodate vessel sizes of up to 100 000 deadweight tonnage and will include road loading facilities, inter-tank transfer/recirculation facilities, stock accounting in real-time, office facilities for customers and an independent laboratory.