Privately funded freight-corridor hub the Insimbi Ridge Precinct, which will introduce new inland staging and intermodal capacity, in Cato Ridge, KwaZulu-Natal, that will directly relieve pressure on the Port of Durban and the N3 corridor, was officially launched on November 10.

It is the first provincially designated freight node under Strategic Integrated Project 2 (SIP 2), which is the national freight, rail and logistics corridor linking Durban to Gauteng.

The precinct project forms part of the KwaZulu-Natal government's strategy to integrate private investment into critical logistics infrastructure to decongest the Durban port, improve freight efficiency along major corridors and stimulate regional industrial growth.

The project is being developed by base minerals and metals mining company subsidiary Assore SA PropCo, together with the Rail Development Corporation (RDC) as the development partner.

“Insimbi Ridge links port, rail and road in one controlled node. This is rail reform made real and presents a blueprint of how private operators can strengthen national logistics capacity,” says RDC Insimbi Ridge project lead Sibusisiwe Nodada.

The precinct integrates logistics and light industrial functions to strengthen efficiency along the Durban to Gauteng corridor.

It will connect directly to the N3 and national rail network via a planned 1.7 km private siding from Cato Ridge Station, which will be complemented by two truck-staging areas due for operation in 2027.

Phase 1 of the project will redevelop about 33 000 m² of logistics and industrial facilities within the initial 351-ha conversion zone. Construction on the logistics services company FPT Group cold store and warehouse has also started.

“Insimbi Ridge is evidence that South African business is prepared to invest in long-term infrastructure when governance and policy conditions are right. It proves that partnerships between government and disciplined private capital can deliver structural reform without burdening the fiscus,” says Assore SA deputy CEO Tiaan van Aswegen.

With its full build-out planned over 20 to 25 years, Insimbi Ridge will host integrated logistics, warehousing and manufacturing zones designed to handle inland freight flows to and from Durban.

The wider 3.5-million square metre precinct aims to attract additional anchor tenants across manufacturing, distribution and intermodal freight operations, and thereby create an estimated 10 000 jobs over its lifespan.

Once fully developed, the Precinct will generate long-term fiscal and employment benefits for the Cato Ridge region and provide confidence for the private sector to invest in South Africa’s infrastructure reform path, he says.

Further, the Precinct directly supports State-owned Transnet National Ports Authority’s R90-billion Port of Durban expansion, the National Freight Logistics Roadmap of 2023, and the KwaZulu-Natal Investment Strategy 2030.

It also aligns with the Country Investment Strategy 2022 and the National Development Plan 2030, all of which identify freight efficiency and private-sector partnership as core enablers of growth, the partners say.

“Every container moved more efficiently inland represents a tonne of trust regained in South Africa’s logistics system,” says bulk logistics services company The Logistics Group (TLG) CEO Anton Potgieter. TLG is the holding company of FPT Group.

The precinct occupies 500 ha of land that can be developed, with the approved Phase 1 covering 351 ha within a 2 080-ha holding owned by Assore SA PropCo.

Environmental Authorisation, Water Use Licence and Offset Plan approvals are already in place for the 351 ha of Phase one of the Precinct's development.

Meanwhile, the site also includes the former Cato Ridge Works smelter.

The smelter’s closure in 2025 triggered a three- to five-year remediation programme that will start once all the required permitting and approvals are in place. The remediation will be financed by iron ore and manganese mining company Assmang, which is the previous operator of the smelter.

The remediation and redevelopment of the Cato Ridge Works smelter footprint converts the previously industrial land into productive economic infrastructure, thereby reducing embodied-carbon impact and avoiding greenfield expansion.

By transforming legacy industrial land into productive freight infrastructure, Insimbi Ridge demonstrates how disciplined private investment can expand logistics capacity, relieve port congestion and drive re-industrialisation in KwaZulu-Natal, the partners say.