Many ports in Africa have had challenges, but not many observers out here would have expected the Port of Durban in South Africa to rank at the very bottom of the container port performance globally.<\/p>\n
In the World Bank\u2019s Container Port Performance Index (CPPI), issued last year, Durban ranked dead last out of 403 global ports. Compare that with Mombasa\u2019s position 375, Beira\u2019s 292, Dar es Salaam\u2019s 360, and Dakar\u2019s impressive 101 position.<\/p>\n
For now, this article will focus on Durban.<\/p>\n
Perhaps people who are closer home or that are users of the SA\u2019s port are possibly aware that the Port of Durban has been on a decline for several years due to both internal and external factors. It is billed the busiest port in Sub Saharan Africa by virtue of handling nearly half of South Africa\u2019s container traffic.<\/p>\n
The World Bank report showed that vessels were spending only 52% of their time productively at berth; the remaining 48% was lost to waiting at anchor. This means that when a vessel is berthed to load or offload for 10 hours, more than five hours would be idle and less than five hours active.<\/p>\n
Its ranking at the bottom has earned the port of Durban widespread bad publicity; luckily, there is something serious being done about it to revitalize it.<\/p>\n
The best performing container ports in Africa, those falling within top 100 included Tanger Med in Morocco at 17th globally, followed by Port Said, Egypt, at 53rd<\/sup>; Alexandria, Egypt at 90th<\/sup>; and Lom\u00e9 in Togo at 92nd.<\/p>\n Back to the issue of Port of Durban! One may ask: how did it get this bad?<\/p>\n The roots of Durban\u2019s collapse are structural. Transnet, the state-owned port operator, suffered from chronic underinvestment, ageing infrastructure, and equipment shortages. By late 2023, congestion reached crisis point when up to 63 vessels queued offshore, berthing delays averaged 18 days, and the crisis caused amounting to Rands 160 million.<\/p>\n The 2022 floods that washed away Bayhead Road\u2014a critical artery for truck access\u2014only compounded the misery, according to the Africa News Agency. Then came the Red Sea crisis in 2024, diverting Asia-Europe traffic around the Cape of Good Hope and exposing every inefficiency in sharp relief.<\/p>\n The recovery plan<\/strong><\/p>\n To Transnet\u2019s credit, a turnaround is visibly underway. A R3.4 billion investment package brought 20 new straddle carriers to Pier 2 and nine RTG cranes to Pier 1, according to credible media reports by the Africa News Agency, which quoted Port of Durban manager Ms Nompumelelo Dweba-Kwetana, on March 15, 2026.<\/p>\n Seven new tugs were deployed, five of them to Durban, restoring operational tug availability from two or three to a consistent five, with a target of seven by the end of 2026. Bayhead Road has been rehabilitated, and a fourth shift now ensures 24-hour operations.<\/p>\n \u201cOne of the challenges that we were experiencing at that time was that our infrastructure was old and we had equipment that was old and required maintenance, and some of it required replacement,\u201d the news agency quoted Ms Dweba-Kwetana saying.<\/p>\n The results: vessel queues have dropped from 17\u201320 ships to just six, and ship turnaround times are improving.<\/p>\n The concession remedy<\/strong><\/p>\n The real game-changer, however, is the 25-year partnership signed in December 2025 with Philippines-based ICTSI, which officially took over operations of DCT Pier 2 on January 1, 2026. The deal was bitterly contested. Maersk\u2019s APM Terminals, the runner-up in the bidding process, launched a legal challenge alleging ICTSI had used market capitalization rather than balance sheet equity to meet solvency requirements. South African courts dismissed the challenge in October 2025, clearing the way for the ICTSI takeover.<\/p>\n Under the agreement, Transnet holds 51%, ICTSI 49%, with the Filipino operator running day-to-day operations and committing R11 billion ($638 million) in upgrades.<\/p>\n Future outlook<\/strong><\/p>\n The targets are ambitious; they entail expanding Pier 2 capacity from 2 million to 2.8 million TEUs; crane moves per hour from 18 to 28; ship working hours from 60 to 120\u2014effectively doubling productivity.<\/p>\n Industry experts broadly welcome the deal. Local media quoted an industrialist Mr Peter Besnard of Saasoa saying the deal was critical for Gauteng\u2019s manufacturing and retail sectors, which depend on Durban for imports and exports.<\/p>\n There are, however, legitimate concerns. Some analysts warn that replacing a public monopoly with a private one, without genuine inter-terminal competition, could limit long-term gains. But for a port that has languished at the bottom of global rankings, this partnership represents the best\u2014and perhaps last\u2014credible chance at revival.<\/p>\n If ICTSI delivers on its track record, Durban may finally reclaim its status as Africa\u2019s premier gateway.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n International Container Terminal Services Inc. (ICTSI) is the world\u2019s largest independent terminal operator, headquartered in Manila, Philippines. Founded in 1987, the company operates 33 terminals across 19 countries on six continents, employs approximately 11,000 people, and handled 14.5 million TEUs in 2025.<\/p>\n Its 2025 financial results show revenues of $3.23 billion and net income of $1.05 billion\u2014up 23% year-on-year.<\/p>\n ICTSI is renowned for transforming underperforming ports through operational discipline and capital investment. The company ranks as the Philippines\u2019 leader in \u201cintangible asset intensity\u201d (85.94%), meaning its value derives from proprietary systems, customer relationships, and operational expertise rather than just physical assets. Chairman Enrique Razon Jr., the Philippines\u2019 richest person, has built ICTSI into a formidable rival to global giants like PSA International and APM Terminals.<\/p>\n ICTSI in Africa<\/strong><\/p>\n Beyond South Africa, ICTSI operates the Onne Multipurpose Terminal in Nigeria\u2019s Port Harcourt complex. Since 2021, it has transformed this facility with a 1,000-metre heavy-lift quay, 45 hectares of yard, and four Gottwald mobile harbour cranes. In June 2025, it made history by receiving the first LNG-powered container ship to berth in West Africa. ICTSI is also expanding in Brazil\u2019s Rio de Janeiro with a $174 million investment.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Many ports in Africa have had challenges, but not many observers out here would have expected the Port of Durban in South Africa to rank at the very bottom of the container port performance globally. In the World Bank\u2019s Container Port Performance Index (CPPI), issued last year, Durban ranked dead last out of 403 global […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":1190,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[12],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1187","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news-analysis"],"yoast_head":"\n