Transnet / Enterprise Africa

TRANSNET

TRANSNET

Driving the Vaccine Rollout

While Sustaining SA’s Economy PRODUCTION: William Denstone

As the custodian of South Africa’s ports, rail and pipelines Transnet is the largest and most crucial part of the country’s freight logistics chain. It has showcased an arguably even more crucial side to its capabilities as the pandemic has taken hold, sustaining vital infrastructures while introducing its transformative Transvaco initiative to bring vaccines directly to the people.

2 / www.enterprise-africa.net

INDUSTRY FOCUS: LOGISTICS

//

“Transnet’s objective is to ensure a globally competitive freight system that enables sustained growth and diversification of the country’s economy.”

// TRANSNET CONTINUES TO LEAVE AN INDELIBLE MARK ON THE LIVES OF ALL SOUTH AFRICANS //

TRANSVACO DELIVERS The Transnet Foundation represents the Corporate Social Investment (CSI) arm of the company, and has been the vehicle by which Transnet has been able to deliver far-reaching benefits and support to vitally impact the communities and environments in which it operates.

Vast time and resources have already been dedicated to introducing a number of diverse programmes around the country, and in August we learned of arguably Transnet’s most significant, impactful CSI drive to date. “Development began in February,” Zodwa Mashishi, Executive Manger: Corporate Affairs, Transnet Engineering, begins, of the pioneering Transvaco vaccination train introduced to bolster government efforts to reach herd immunity in the midst of the Covid-19 pandemic.

“We realised that Covid-19 was going nowhere, and we saw the opportunity here to provide an unmatched response to what we could see unfolding not just locally, but globally, to ease the burden on healthcare services.

Transnet’s structural transformation in 2007 prompted a wholesale reshuffling and repositioning of the legendary brand.

The main outcome of this evolution was the establishment of a coherent set of business units and operations, able to function together effectively as one single monolith to deliver on its philosophy of, ‘one company, one vision.’

All of the Transnet sub-brands are driven by this same central principle, uniting freight rail, rail engineering, national ports authority and port terminals, pipelines and property to operate and control South Africa’s major transport infrastructures and ensure that these operate to world-class standards.

“As a state-owned company, Transnet continues to leave an indelible mark on the lives of all South Africans,” sums up the company, headquartered in the Carlton Centre in Johannesburg. “With a geographical footprint that covers our entire country, Transnet is inextricably involved in all aspects of life in South Africa.

4 / www.enterprise-africa.net

// WE HAVE THE EXPERIENCE, THE EXPERTISE AND A HIGHLY COMPETENT WORKFORCE WHICH WE CAN EMPLOY IN DISTRIBUTING THE VACCINE NATIONALLY // “Obviously, we have all felt the devastating effects of Covid-19, and continue to do so, and this was our effort to help rollout vaccinations countrywide. We realised that we had an almost unmatched capability to actually put this into practice, paired with inhouse engineers able to design these coaches in line with what we have done successfully before.”

It is modelled on the Phelophepa health trains, which have been providing primary healthcare services in under-serviced areas across South Africa over the past 27 years. “Similarly, but on an even larger scale, the Transvaco aims to reach, and vaccinate, communities in remote parts of the country, and areas where health facilities are overburdened,” Mashishi explains.

With state-of-the-art vaccine facilities including ultra-low temperature vaccine fridges, Transvaco was designed and built by the Transnet Engineering manufacturing division and can store up to 108,000 vials of different types of Covid-19 vaccines.

Vaccine availability and procurement have improved markedly since the end of the summer months, and South Africa is now one of the 15 countries worldwide currently where 10% of the populace is fully vaccinated, per WHO targets. It has also now surpassed the 16 million mark for total administered Covid-19 doses since the start of its vaccination rollout programme.

Coega SEZ advances socio-economic development amid the COVID-19 Pandemic

Re-building the South African Economy: Coega SEZ recently announced the coming online of five investment projects by the end of 2021 - TransMerch Africa (R37 million), APLI (R180 million), Seraphim (R362 million), DHL (R20 million), and Cochrane (R10 million).

The Coega Development Corporation (CDC) is headquartered in the City of Gqeberha, Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality, South Africa, with a strategic operational footprint in South Africa and beyond the boarders in the African continent. The CDC’s vision is to be the leading catalyst for the championing of socio-economic development. This it seeks to achieve through the development and operation of the 9 003 hectare Coega Special Economic Zone (SEZ), a transshipment hub and a leading investment destination in Africa, providing highly skilled competence and capacity for the execution of complex infrastructure and related projects throughout South Africa and selected markets on the African continent, and advisory on the development of industrialisation and logistics zones. The CDC’s advanced capabilities are successful enablers in economic zone development and management, real assets management, infrastructure planning and development, technology integration while realising related socio-economic impact areas such as skills and SMME development. The foundational culture of the CDC’s approach, backed by core values, is innovation and continuous improvement.

The CDC is encouraged by the increasing number of new investors in the Coega SEZ. These investors are planning to open their facilities this year, despite the current economic challenges as a result of the COVID-19 Pandemic. The CDC welcomes these developments. This demonstrates the Coega SEZ’s resilience, and its ability to adapt in the face of economic challenges, as the leading SEZ in the continent.

The Pandemic has caused massive disruptions to the flow of FDI; as a result, the investors are looking for markets that will ease disruptions in their production chains, environments that are swift to implement measures to stimulate economic recovery & growth and provide policy certainty amid a global challenge. SEZs seek to leverage the potential of their locations and infrastructure in providing a conducive environment for these linkages to take place. In a study by the World Bank, titled Special Economic Zones in Africa, it highlights the potential of SEZs to contribute to improving Africa’s competitiveness and its integration with the global economy and how SEZs could help to create jobs and raise incomes.

Consistent with the aforementioned vision of the CDC, the Coega SEZ will, by the end of 2021, operationalise additional Five (5) investor facilities, amounting to R606 million worth of private investment. These investors include TransMerch Africa (R37 million), APLI (R180 million), Seraphim (R362 million), DHL (R20 million), and Cochrane (R10 million).

Currently, the Coega SEZ has a staggering of 50 operational investors with a combined investment value of R11,63 billion, making Coega the preferred investment destination on the Continent. The SEZ has received local and international awards of excellence, including the DTIC’s Investor of the Year Award, at the 6th Annual South African Premier Business Awards. The Coega SEZ has been acknowledged by the International Institutions as the case study for SEZ operations and development on the continent. Our investors benefit from Coega’s excellence including its ISO certified systems and processes, said Dr. Ayanda Vilakazi, CDC’s Head of Marketing, Brand and Communications.

The multi-user tenant, TransMerch Africa, is in Zone 3 of the Coega SEZ, and is expected to become operational in December 2021. This manufacturer of chemicals and products for supply to the automotive industry is expected to create 15 jobs.

The African Port Logistics and Infrastructure (APLI) in Zone 1 of the Coega SEZ has completed the development of the fruit cold storage facilities and a container depot; it became operational in June of this year. During construction, APLI created more than 720 jobs, and is expected to create a total of 228 operational jobs when fully operational.

Seraphim, located in Zone 3 of the Coega SEZ is expected to be ready for commissioning towards the end of December this year. The Seraphim facility will produce Solar photovoltaic cells and during construction it created more than 81 jobs. When fully operational the company is expected to create over 324 operational jobs.

The SEZs play a critical role in the logistics sector. Another investor that will be starting operations in October of this year is DHL. The company recently completed the construction of its facility in Zone 1 of the Coega SEZ. The construction of the facility has seen over 260 people being employed, and is earmarked to create a large compliment of local employees when fully operational.

Cochrane, located in the Multi-user facility in Zone 3 of the Coega SEZ, provides a storage and fencing solutions and related products. It became operational in the Coega SEZ in April of this year. Currently, the investor has created seven (7) operational jobs and this number is expected to increase over the years.

The SEZs, such as Coega, are a catalyst for employment, transformation, socio-economic development, and industry growth. Therefore, working together with our valuable investors and stakeholders, we can advance the socioeconomic development of the country, and then fast-track sustainable inclusive growth in line with the country’s Economic Reconstruction and Recovery Plan.

For more information on the Coega SEZ, and investment opportunities, contact: Dr. Ayanda Vilakazi (B.Com (Hons), MBA, DBA) Unit Head of Marketing, Brand and Communications E-mail: ayanda.vilakazi@coega.co.za Telephone: 041 403 0464 Fax: 041 403 0401 WhatsApp: 082 645 7277

View Coega Corporate Video www.coega.co.za Follow Coega on social media

INDUSTRY FOCUS: LOGISTICS

The innate portability of Transvaco, combined with Transnet’s unerring aim to harness the power of people and technology to secure a brighter future, could prove crucial not just within South Africa’s borders but throughout Africa, where roughly 10 in 100 people have now received at least one dose.

“We said to ourselves: we have the experience, the expertise and a highly competent workforce which we can employ in distributing the vaccine nationally, so let’s use it,” Mashishi goes on. “This vaccine is going to continue to be produced for a long time to come and it will need to be distributed, and Transvaco’s value could even extend beyond the South African efforts and across the whole continent.

// WE OCCUPY SUCH A DIVERSIFIED POSITION, BUT OUR DIVISIONS COMPLIMENT EACH OTHER PERFECTLY //

6 / www.enterprise-africa.net

“It is a real showcase of our capabilities along the whole process, from engineering, to design and manufacturer, and finally handover, and represents a monumental milestone for us. We are proud to be offering this huge helping hand to government to expedite the vaccine rollout, not just here but as far as the likes of Swaziland, Botswana and Mozambique. We are taking the clinic directly to the people and maximising the delivery of this critical vaccine.”

STRENGTH IN INTEGRATION With life-changing ingenuity in full swing, February turned out to be a busy month for Transnet as it showcased its ability to combine this with the maintenance and uplift of its core, more conventional operations. Forced to act swiftly and decisively at the height of the pandemic to improve locomotive availability and stabilise capacity on its vast coal line, Transnet succeeded in shoring up supply of this vital export commodity.

Coal volume deliveries had been impacted by a litany of obstacles including low demand sparked by

Covid-19 and theft incidents. In response, Transnet implemented the fast-tracking of locomotive maintenance where feasible, reallocation of suitable locomotives throughout the business and robust integrated security management plans.

Transnet also used February to pilot an innovative inland operation at the Cape Town Container Terminal, resulting in relief on the roads and goods being moved more efficiently to the ports while reducing costs. Successfully easing congestion, the haulage of reefer containers from Belcon Inland Terminal in Bellville to the port was an astute bid to improve efficiencies, initially involving 20 containers and set to be gradually increased.

Unlike a truck, which carries one reefer container per trip, one train has the capacity to carry and deliver up to 36 containers each time. Mashishi pinpoints the modal shift from road to rail as a key focal point for the country’s onward efficiencies, and this is just one of the projects supporting the company’s strategy. “The roads are experiencing difficulties on a daily

TRANSNET

// THE TRANSVACO AIMS TO REACH, AND VACCINATE, COMMUNITIES IN REMOTE PARTS OF THE COUNTRY // basis,” she reveals, “and this is largely due to market share. Trucks are carrying coal and containers, which is totally inefficient, and the question for us to answer is how to seamlessly take back that market share from roads and towards rail, where there are big savings to be made.”

Although less likely to dominate headlines than the potentially eradefining importance of Transvaco, these recent triumphs are no less illustrative of the company’s dominance in South African logistics, and there are several factors poised to keep it at the top, Mashishi makes clear.

“Our people have long been a key differentiator for us,” she says. “We have a very skilled, competent and capable workforce ranging from engineers to artisans and technical people. Our facilities are way ahead, as well, and our in-house capacity is amazing, while from a research and development and knowledge point of view we have time and again demonstrated that nobody else comes close.

“More than anything, though, it is integration that is vital.” Transnet’s integration as a freight transport company, around its core of six complementing operating divisions, has been transformational. The likes of the Cape Town Container Terminal collaboration between Transnet’s Port Terminals and Freight Rail divisions demonstrate this strength explicitly, but it is integral to Transnet’s entire approach and lends it the strength required to be the backbone of the country’s freight logistics chain.

“The main intention of the 2007 structural transformation was to achieve

a coherent set of business units and operations that could function together effectively. We certainly achieved this aim, and now he reality of the value chain makes it essential that we remain integrated,” Mashishi underlines of this central aspect of Transnet’s operations.

“We occupy such a diversified position but our divisions compliment each other perfectly and are intimately linked. Whether through manufacturing, ports or rail, the bottom line is that we exist to deliver freight reliably, to each and every one of our stakeholders. We are the major player in the Southern African transport and logistics arena and are building on existing corridors and clusters, to exploit the synergy between port and rail and create valuable business opportunities that extend far beyond the shorelines and borders of the country.”

WWW.TRANSNET.NET

www.enterprise-africa.net / 7

CMB Media Group does not accept responsibility for omissions or errors. The points of view expressed in articles by attributing writers and/ or in advertisements included in this magazine do not necessarily represent those of the publisher.

Any resemblance to real persons, living or dead is purely coincidental. Whilst every effort is made to ensure the accuracy of the information contained within this magazine, no legal responsibility will be accepted by the publishers for loss arising from use of information published. All rights reserved.

No part of this publication may be reproduced or stored in a retrievable system or transmitted in any form or by any means without the prior written consent of the publisher. © CMB Media Group Ltd 2021

THE BUSINESS MAGAZINE FOR AFRICA’S INDUSTRY LEADERS

AFRICA

Published by CMB Media Group Chris Bolderstone – General Manager chris@cmb-media.co.uk Kiln House, Fuel Studios, Pottergate, Norwich NR2 1DX T. +44 (0) 1603 855 161 E. info@cmb-media.co.uk www.cmb-media.co.uk

November 2021

www.enterprise-africa.net

‘Be Your Best’ Ethos Fuels Booming Biogen Exclusive interview with Biogen General Manager, Brandon Fairweather

ALSO IN THIS ISSUE:

Sealand Gear / TRSS / Abbeydale / Africrest

AS FEAT UR ED IN

ENTERPRISE AFRICA

NOVEMBER 2021