SPECIAL FEATURE
KwaZulu-Natal’s ports are shaping up to receive more ships Construction of the Durban Cruise Terminal got underway in 2019.
MSC Orchestra arrives in Durban on maiden visit. Image: MSC Cruises
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SA and Africa Armada Consortium, KCT will spend about R220-million on the financing‚ construction‚ maintenance and operation of the cruise terminal for a 25-year concession period. Construction began in 2019. The cruise terminal will cover a 32 000m² area that will cater for two ships and at least 5 000 passengers. A ship with 2 000 passengers is worth in the region of R2-million per day for the host city. The number of annual passengers is expected to grow from the current 200 000 to more than 700 000 by 2040. Durban’s hosting of 60 ships per annum is expected to rise to 150 or more. South Africa attracts 0.5% of the world’s cruiseship market which comprises about 15.4-million passengers annually. MSC Musica uses Durban as her base port and is joined by MSC Opera during the summer months, sailing from Durban to Mozambique and
he KwaZulu Cruise Terminal (KCT ) consortium has won the contract from Transnet National Ports Authority (TNPA) to finance, build and run the new Durban Cruise Terminal. The terminal is expected to start functioning for the 2020/21 cruise season. Within the Port of Durban there are a number of specialised facilities. One of the busiest is the Container Terminal and that is the subject of a large upgrading project. The Port of Richards Bay, the link to the world for South Africa’s coal exporters, is constantly adding to its facilities, the latest being a floating dock, for which approval has been given to be constructed within the port. The cruise terminal is an important step forward for Durban and fits in well with the larger project that links the port to the upgraded southern end of the promenade, the Durban Point Waterfront. A joint venture between MSC Cruises KWAZULU-NATAL BUSINESS 2020/21
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