The Port of Durban, a critical trade artery for South Africa and the region, has gained new impetus for development, thanks to BRICS-backed financing. The port handles more cargo than any other port in Africa. But years of aging infrastructure and logistics bottlenecks have weighed on its performance. Now, hundreds of millions of dollars in government and international financing are helping transform the port.
The New Development Bank has been among the international financiers supporting modernization efforts by the port operator first, granting a 260-million-dollar loan back in 2018.
"We are fixing the actual infrastructure that we have. Also, the investment in the jib cranes that are actually going to come is part of our activities to fix the actual dock. The second pillar of that -- it is to transform the business. So part of transforming the business is what we are doing to procure the central lift that is actually going to repair our own vessels," said Mpumi Dweba-Kwetana, manager of the port.
The port is now preparing for increased container traffic as the African Continental Free Trade Area takes shape.
"We are positioning ourselves to be able to actually ensure that we are able to bring in bigger vessels, but also importantly, improvement in efficiencies in the work that we do, pricing our docks adequately," said the manager.
But a modern port also needs a functioning feeder network.
In 2024, the New Development Bank announced a further 300-million-dollar facility to support revival of Transnet's freight rail system.
The network was badly affected by vandalism, theft and operational failures, restricting the flow of goods to the ports and weighing on economic growth.
"If you look at our lack of growth, it has been on the supply side. First it was electricity which took us for more than a decade to get it right, almost 16 years. Now we've got a similar problem in logistics, which we need to sort, because if the logistics front is not working, where we do not even benefit from commodity booms," said South African Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana.
Transnet's Reinvent for Growth Strategy aims to rebuild infrastructure and improve efficiency. The goal is to get goods moving faster, from mines and farms to the port, and into international markets.
"If we don't fix it, we will have a system that is again continuing to deteriorate. And we can't have that because when you have a deteriorating system, as I've said, you have derailments, you have all sorts of incidents on the line. The trains are not moving fast enough. If that happens, it means the pace at which goods are moving to and from the port is slower," said Michelle Phillips, CEO of Transnet.
Rebuilding South Africa's port and rail network is not just about resilient infrastructure. It is about making the country more competitive and cementing Durban's position as a gateway between Africa and the wider BRICS trading cooperation.
BRICS-backed financing helps transform South Africa's Port of Durban
