KwaZulu Cruise Terminal (KCT) – a JV between MSC Cruises, a subsidiary of MSC Mediterranean Shipping Company, and its black empowerment partner, Africa Armada Consortium – has been selected the preferred bidder for the development of the R215-million Durban Cruise Terminal.
Transnet National Ports Authority (TNPA) CEO Richard Vallihu said that the chosen bidder would be responsible for the design, financing, construction, operation, maintenance and transfer of a cruise terminal facility for a 20-year concession period.
KCT is 70%-owned by MSC Cruises and 30% by Africa Armada Consortium which its executive director, Mxolisi Nkululeko Mchunu, said was a four-year-old investment company that operated within the port and logistics sectors.
The company is classified as an exempted microenterprise (EME) and is expected to grow into a qualifying small enterprise (QSE).
MSC Cruises is the world’s fourth-largest company and operates in 45 countries and over 180 ports. The company has over 13 years’ experience operating cruise terminals including those in Marseille, Genoa, Civitavecchia and Naples.
MSC Cruises MD Ross Volk said construction would commence by May 2018, with the new facility likely to be commissioned in October 2019.
Due to the phased approach to the development, Volk was not yet able to provide specific details of which auxiliary spaces and retail spaces would be included.
However, Vallihu specified that various government departments, including the South African Police Service, Customs and Home Affairs, would be included in the facility. He said viewing decks that would allow the public to watch ship traffic into and out of the port had also been incorporated into the design.
N-shed will continue to serve the cruise industry until the new facility comes on stream.
Councillor Nkosenhle Madlala said the new Durban Cruise Terminal would become an integral part of the ongoing Point Waterfront Development.
Vallihu said: “The Durban cruise market has grown from 75 947 passengers ten years ago to 191 412 passengers last season. Already, we have at least 20 international cruise liners operated by 14 cruise lines calling at South Africa’s ports.”
Section 56 projects, which encourage private sector participation, are a key element of Transnet’s Market Demand Strategy and central to its provision of world class facilities to serve this market segment.
There are already a number of very positive Section 56 developments and concessions in place.
