State-owned freight logistics group Transnet has initiated the first stage of a process to select a private partner for the Richards Bay Dry Bulk Terminal (RBDBT), a key export terminal in KwaZulu-Natal for bulk commodities such as chrome and magnetite.

Transnet has issued a request for qualification (RFQ) document with a deadline of August 31 and intends inviting respondents that are able to demonstrate technical capability, operational experience, financial capacity, and compliance with its requirements to bid into a subsequent request for proposal process.

It will also host a briefing session with prospective respondents on March 19.

The terminal is currently handling some 16.7-million tons of dry bulk yearly, which is below its 18.5-million tons nameplate, and Transnet is aiming to use a private sector participation (PSP) model to potentially expand the terminal’s capacity to 26.9-million tons and position it as a leading regional export hub.

Significant investment will be required to modernise and expand the RBDBT, including: the conversion of Berth 702 from import to export use; the development of a new Berth 802, adjacent to Berth 801; upgrades to stockyards, additional tipplers, and conveyor systems to increase throughput and reliability; and the integration of advanced mechanisation and digital technologies to enhance productivity, reduce vessel turnaround times, and lower demurrage costs.

“Given the scale of capital needed and Transnet’s current balance sheet constraints, a PSP transaction offers the most practical and sustainable mechanism to unlock investment,” Transnet states.

Transnet Port Terminals (TPT) will remain the 51% owner of an envisaged special purpose vehicle, which will be responsible for the financing, operations, maintenance, and performance improvement of the terminal under a sublicensing agreement with TPT.

Transnet has identified chrome and magnetite, which together account for nearly 50% of the terminal’s existing throughput, as the primary growth commodities for RBDBT, arguing that their long-term demand outlook is robust owing to global trends in steel production, stainless-steel consumption, and the transition toward low-carbon, green steel manufacturing.

In a statement, Transnet described the issuance of the RFQ as an important milestone in Transnet’s Reinvent for Growth Strategy, saying that it signals the organisation’s readiness to engage the market to strengthen operational performance and attract private investment. 

“Through the PSP process, Transnet seeks to leverage private sector expertise and capital to improve operational efficiency and reliability, while supporting future capacity growth and retaining strategic oversight of the asset.”

Transport Minister Barbara Creecy, in her speech in response to President Cyril Ramaphosa’s State of the Nation Address, signalled that the process to select a partner for RBDBT would be initiated in February.

She also announced that two other PSP programmes were likely to be initiated in 2026, including the Ngqura manganese export corridor PSP by mid-year, and the Container Corridor PSP by the end of 2026.

Through the Ngqura manganese export corridor concession the aim is to consolidate manganese exports in Nelson Mandela Bay through a new 12-million-ton bulk terminal at the Port of Ngqura, integrated with an upgrade of rail capacity from the Northern Cape to Ngqura.

The container corridor PSP, meanwhile, aims to use a 25-year concession model to mobilise private capital, expertise, and operational capacity to tackle the underperformance of South Africa’s primary container logistics corridor linking Johannesburg and Durban.

“There are limited State resources to upgrade our rail network. This makes private-sector infrastructure investment critical,” Creecy said.