28 LUA JAN - FEB 2018
newS
Transnet Port Terminals unveils 23 locally
assembled straddle carriers
S
outh Africa based Transnet Port Termi-
nals (TPT) has unveiled 23 Kalmar new
straddle carriers assembled locally for the
Durban Container Terminal (DCT) Pier 2
operations. This marks TPT’s commitment
to localisation and industrialisation of the
country. The delivery of the 23 straddle
carriers forms part of TPT’s strategy to
replace ageing equipment with new and
modernised equipment.
The substantial capital investment by
TPT of nearly R308 million will increase
the number of reliable straddle carriers
available to operations and lower the
cost of maintenance due to less equip-
ment failures.
A statement from the company says
that the investment will also ensure greatercustomer satisfaction through improved
delivery time of containers.
TPT has sought the services of a global
and leading cargo handling maker, Kalmar,
an original equipment manufacturer
(OEM), to supply a substantial portion
of the sub-assembled components for
specialised cargo handling equipment of
this nature through its fellow operating
division Transnet Engineering.
The partnership also involved train-
ing and imparting of technical knowledge
and skills for local engineers at Transnet.
One of the key milestones on the project
was the local manufacture of the spreader
beams by TE, which were designed to au-
tomatically locate and lock the container,
operated by the driver.The maiden SGR cargo train arrives in Nairobi
DHL to manage
cargo movement with
its new control tower
G
lobal logistics major, DHL
Supply Chain South Africa
has recently introduced a central
control tower as part of the
efficiency improvement initiative.
The tower aggregates information
such as orders, planning and
execution, health and safety, driver
behaviour, fleet management,
electronic PODs, and transfers
it to one system. The collated
information helps the company to
manage the supply chain from a
central location.
The customers nowadays look
for information from the time
an order is sent to a logistics
provider and till the load be-
ing delivered to its destination.
Supply chain companies have
implemented technologies to
help managers to obtain minute
by minute information when the
cargo is on the move.
With the help of the new central
control tower, DHL will now be
able to assist with advising on,
planning, execution and reporting
of the customer’s fleet.K
enya operated the first standard gauge
railway (SGR) cargo train between Mom-
basa and Nairobi in the New Year. Accord-
ing to the reports, the SGR cargo train was
dispatched much before schedule.
The train arrived in Nairobi at the
ultra-modern inland container depot
which was launched by President Uhuru
Kenyatta a fortnight ago. The arrival of
the cargo train is in line with President
Kenyatta’s promise to reduce the cost of
doing business in the country.
The cargo train carried 104 contain-
ers, which is almost equivalent to the
trucks operating daily on the Mombasa-
Nairobi highway.
According to the Daily Nation, in his
New Year message, President Kenyattasaid the new commercial cargo train
would cut costs and delays in trade for
Kenyans and its neighbours.
The Star reports that last month
during the launch of Makadara Express
inter county train service, Transport CS
James Macharia said the cost of moving
a container from the Port of Mombasa to
Nairobi will not only be cheaper, but it will
now be done within 24 hours.
According to the Kenya’s Ports Author-
ity head of Inland Container Deports Sy-
mon Wahome, the new commercial cargo
train will revolutionise the transportation
of cargo in Kenya. “While the meter train
used to carry twenty to thirty containers,
the standard gauge train will carry 216
containers,” said Wahome.There will four trains operated daily
in the beginning which will later increase
to eight cargo trains. It is expected that
the Mombasa Port’s total annual freight
handling is expected to exceed 50 million
tonnes by 2030, doubling from 24 million
tonnes in 2015.