SOUTH AFRICA: Transnet National Ports Authority has issued a request for qualification for the design, funding and construction of a greenfield deepwater port and 550 km railway connection at Boegoebaai, 20 km south of the Namibian border in Northern Cape Province.
The RFQ is intended to obtain information to shape the final design as well as to identify and select qualifying developers. The railway would connect the port to the mining and industrial hubs in the province.
’The information sought through the RFQ is necessary for TNPA to chart a way forward in line with our strategic objective to operationalise a port in the region by 2026’, said TNPA Programme Director Magenthran Ruthenavelu on August 4.
‘Over and above the catalytic effect of new port and rail infrastructure to the local economy, the investment could also provide an additional, cost-effective channel to market for manganese exporters in the province. It will bring much-needed relief to emerging miners who are currently restricted by high road transportation costs and no access to current export channels due to capacity constraints.’
