THE 640,000 sqm Newlyn PX Bayhead Rail Terminal was officially opened by President Cyril Ramaphosa on a visit to eThekwini on 4 April. It is reported to be the first large-scale rail and road connected facility of sufficient scale and proximity to the Port of Durban to manage the high level of flow of cargo by sea, road and rail traffic needed to unlock the North and landlocked Southern African trade corridors.
The development facilitates the movement of sea, rail, and road cargo via a multimodal hub to assist with the handling, storage, loading and movement of a variety of cargo types, including hard and soft commodities in bulk and breakbulk, containerised cargo and project cargo.
The terminal comprises seven separate warehousing units (PX 1-7); four of which are on long lease to global logistics major, C Steinweg Bridge and three of the units to another global bulk logistics company, Access World. The land on which the rail terminal has been developed is leased from Transnet on long lease. The development includes 350,486 sqm under cover and 267,865 sqm of yard, rail siding and other infrastructure, making it one of the largest multi-modal rail terminals in the Southern Hemisphere.
“This is a major milestone for South Africa and showcases what can be achieved when the private sector and government work together for the future of our country and her people,” said Raj Balmakhun, Newlyn CEO.
President Cyril Ramaphosa said at the unveiling that the completion and launch of the Newlyn Park Bayhead Rail Terminal project is not only a much-needed boost to South Africa’s logistics infrastructure network but is also a symbol of recovery and resilience for the city of Durban, for the eThekwini Metro, for KwaZulu Natal, and for the country at large.
“Upgrading local port infrastructure is critical to the success of the Africa Continental Free Trade Area, and this new terminal will facilitate the swift movement of goods from South Africa to the continent and beyond,” he said.
“We have updated limited and ageing infrastructure at one of Africa’s busiest ports and have drawn on international best practice in modern rail terminal design to accommodate seven block trains of 50 wagons each simultaneously. The added rail capacity accelerates the movement of cargo from road to rail, adding immense new opportunities for businesses, local economies, and supply chains,” says Firdhose Coovadia, chief value officer at Newlyn.
The facility already processes some 1,400 truck gate movements each day, handles about 380,000 tons of cargo each month, and thus is growing quarter on quarter. Commodities handled in the terminal include copper, project cargoes and equipment, cobalt, paper, fertilizer, renewable energy project cargo, zinc, and mining reagents.
Making Durban and its port shine again
Ramaphosa said the establishment of the new facility was the actualisation of the changing of the narrative to a more positive one for the city and country and a testament to a man who never gave up on his vision.
“This project is a good model of public-private partnership. The terminal has been built on land that is leased from Transnet and the partnership with Newlyn will assist in improving operational efficiency across the board,” he said.
“To deliver full benefits, it has to have trains and slots to be made available to clients. This will lead to a significant increase in revenue for Transnet and NatCor through the migration of road to rail.”
Rmaphosa said that the government was addressing challenges, particularly in the network industries and infrastructure. “We want Durban Port to return to its days of great glory. And it is for this reason I have decided to set up a Presidential eThekwini Working Group that is going to focus on addressing the challenges that we face here in eThekwini.”
Ramaphosa said he wanted to get eThekwini and the Durban Port to shine again as a sought-after hub for importers and exporters.
“Collaboration between national, provincial and local government is solidifying. We are addressing the challenges that are given rise to by water supply, infrastructure and how the municipality works. All those are going to be addressed through collaboration and cooperation at the Presidential eThekwini Working Group. The group will report back to me every three weeks to tell me exactly how we are repositioning eThekwini, and how we are addressing the challenges in Durban Port.” He said that the unions, business and Transnet were involved and that he had seen commitment to working together.
The eThekwini Working Group is co-chaired by Phindile Baleni from the Office of the Presidency and Mike Mabuyakhulu.
C Steinweg Bridge COO Sheldon Cockroft said that the company looked forward to fully functioning rail operations and port efficiencies to get the most out of the company’s commitment to the investment and to the customers that it serves. He said C Stenweg Bridge is a big user of rail and that cargo should ‘move seamlessly in and out of ports and not ‘dwell’.
Access World Africa MD, Donovan Bissett said he was proud that the Newlyn Terminal was the single biggest warehouse in the group’s portfolio. The facility forms a remarkable part of the growth of Access World’s business in South Africa, he said. Access World Africa has grown substantially over the past three years and is using rail to move an increasing proportion of its cargo in and out of the facility.
Blmakhun said as an industry, we welcome the National Freight Logistics Roadmap and the National Framework for private sector participation in key logistics assets. “Newlyn is ready and able to contribute to critical logistics infrastructure. The launch of this terminal is just the beginning. We look forward to collaborating with government, Transnet and industry in a symbiotic manner to develop common user infrastructure to facilitate the development of emerging miners. We have several projects in the pipeline.”
