South Africa: Transnet Port's Expansion Hurt By Skills Dearth
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Business Day (Johannesburg)
21 August 2008
Posted to the web 21 August 2008
Artwell Dlamini
Johannesburg
TRANSNET Port Terminals, which is preparing to roll out a R10bn expansion project, said yesterday a critical skills shortage was hampering its progress and preventing it from spending its capital expenditure budget.
The group was preparing to roll out its capital expenditure plan over the next five years and CEO Tau Morwe said the division needed professionals such as engineers and project managers to see the task through.
For the financial year 2006- 07, Morwe said the group could not invest the R3,9bn it had set aside for capital expenditure, but ended up spending only R1,5bn because of the lack of skills.
Transnet acknowledged the seriousness of the problem in its annual report: "Lack of skilled people resources and the inability to retain skilled employees result ed in the inability to achieve overall business objectives."
Morwe said the division aimed to improve capacity. "We want to ensure that we create capacity ahead of demand."
He gave the examples of Singapore and the Netherlands, which had created capacity in their ports sufficient for the next 10-20 years.
Morwe said the group was addressing the skills issue.
He said the division, together with Transnet Capital Projects, which oversees major capital projects, was acquiring the necessary skills. Morwe was confident that with Transnet Capital's help, the division would achieve its capital expenditure goals .
In addition, he said the group had established a port terminals learning academy, and some equipment operators were already being trained there.
Other measures included sending some employees to Belgium for academic training in specialist areas such as transport logistics.
The division was also bringing in Sri Lankan experts to offer employees training on how to operate cranes and straddle carriers.
Transnet Port Terminals' capital expansion programme included the creation of the new Ngqura port, the expansion of Durban and Cape Town container terminals, and upgrading the bulk-handling facilities in Richards Bay and Saldanha.
Ngqura, a deep-water port, would handle large, new-generation container vessels, which could carry 4000 to 6000 TEUs ( 20-foot equivalent units), Morwe said.
This would allow larger vessels to carry in more containers and cargo, he said .
After widening the entrance channel to the Durban port, the division would look at the feasibility of deepening the base.
The Durban container terminal is expected to increase capacity from 2,3-million TEUs a year to 2,9-million TEUs a year.
At present, the Durban terminal has an annual capacity of 700000 TEUs.
The programme also beefed up operational performance at the terminal from 10 moves per gross crane hour in November last year to 20 moves per gross crane hour in March this year .
Relevant Links
Cape Town port is projected to double its capacity from 700000 TEUs a year to 1,4-million TEUs a year.
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Its easy,if you want more skilled workers,from your area of influence,offer incentives to the firms involved,ie,govt to pay wages of apprentice,when they are studying,(they are probably the most costly worker to the firm)resulting in a situation where mostly smaller firms are not in the least interested in hiring apprentices,help them and I know they would be.