As the only port with a green status in the Southern African port system, Transnet National Ports Authority’s (TNPA) Port of Ngqura has now established itself as the ideal partner in bringing green energy to our nation. It has provided a safe gateway, temporary storage and an accessible distribution point for wind turbine components imported from Spain since 2012.

These components – consisting of wind turbine tower parts, blades, etc. – are destined for various windfarm projects throughout the country. They include the Golden Valley Wind Farm, the Nxuba Wind Farm between Bedford and Cookhouse in the Eastern Cape and the Roggeveld Wind Farm in the Karoo, spanning both the Northern Cape and Western Cape. The majority of wind farms are located across the Eastern Cape. The port has been a major player since the Department of Energy has approved these projects as part of the Independent Power Producer (IPP) process in 2012.

Unique offering

“The port is uniquely positioned to accommodate these special projects cargo or abnormal cargo, classified as General Cargo, at its “Finger Jetty.” It also has a dedicated laydown area of 80 000 m² to store these massive components. The port’s ideal location and accessibility to the national freeway, makes road-haulage of the components to its destination easier, compared to city-locked port. The surrounding infrastructure linking the port to the hinterland is also ideal – no restrictive bridges and the road can handle the abnormal cargo size and weight,” said Nozipho Booi, New Business Development Manager: Port of Ngqura.

Additional revenue stream

“The almost 50 000 million tons of wind turbine cargo that was imported in the 2019/20 financial year, fit perfectly into the port’s revenue diversification strategy of avoiding over-reliance on a single revenue stream,” said Tandi Lebakeng, Port Manager of the Port of Ngqura.

What is a green port?

A green port status means that it is a port that was subjected to environmental legislation during its entire development – from pre-construction, during its current operation and will be during its future development.

Wind turbine tower components (top) and blades (bottom) stored in the Port of Ngqura before being transported by road and assembled at various wind farms throughout the country.

The 2020 Automotive Export Manual publication just released by Dr. Norman Lamprecht, Executive Manager of the National Association of Automobile Manufacturers of South Africa (NAAMSA) and the Automotive Industry Export Council (AIEC) highlights that the export value of vehicles and automotive components comprised a record R201,7 billion, equating to 15,5% of South Africa’s total exports in 2019. A record 387 125 vehicles worth a record R148,0 billion, along with a record R53,7 billion in automotive components, were exported to 151 countries in 2019. From 2018 to 2019, the total export values more than doubled in the case of 19 countries.

South Africa’s global vehicle production ranking remained at 22nd in 2019, although its market share improved from 0,64% to 0,69% due to the record 631 983 vehicles produced in 2019, supported by the industry’s record vehicle export performance. South Africa remained the dominant market on the African continent and accounted for 57,2% of total African vehicle production of 1,12 million vehicles.

South Africa is highly exposed to economic conditions in China and the world economy in general, and the Covid-19 pandemic will stifle export-oriented industries and manufacturing in the foreseeable future. South African exporting companies will be required to consider various scenarios for the world economy and global trade patterns in the short to medium term according to Dr. Lamprecht.

The automotive industry across the world is currently experiencing unprecedented challenges due to the global lockdowns implemented across all major automotive manufacturing countries to flatten the Covid-19 curve, and South Africa is no exception to this. However, since the grand vision of the automotive industry involves electric vehicles, connected cars and autonomous driving, the latter two could just be accelerated as a result.

Download below the full media release from NAAMSA highlighting the 2019 key statistics as well as the 2020 Automotive Export Manual.