“Always be prepared for crisis.” That’s the motto of Enrique Razon Jr, a man who, until now, you might never have heard of.
You may be sure, however, that Razon, a Filipino billionaire, is likely to have an impact on your daily life … if you are an importer in Gauteng or a user of the N3.
If not him personally, then his company, International Container Terminal Services Inc (ICTSI), which has just signed a 25-year concession with Transnet to operate the Pier 2 container terminal in Durban harbour.
The crisis for which ICTSI hopefully comes well prepared is the daily entropy of getting containers off ships (or onto them) and through the harbour gates.
On most days there are a dozen or so ships riding at anchor off Durban. If they were discharging their cargoes into lighters under a tropical sky, it would be a pleasing, almost Tintin-esque scene.
The firm is reportedly on the hook to spend R11bn to boost Pier 2’s capacity by 40%
The reality is that every ship languishing in the roadstead is bad cholesterol, a stoppage in the system. It’s better than it was in late 2023, when there were 60 ships marooned off the golden sands, but it’s still not good.
Razon himself started out, working for minimum wage, in the family’s cargo-loading business in Manila port when he was 17. The company he subsequently built now operates 34 terminals in 20 countries.
The firm is reportedly on the hook to spend R11bn to boost Pier 2’s capacity by 40% from 2-million to 2.8-million 20-foot equivalent units.
But making the port more efficient is one thing. Ensuring that Transnet Freight Rail (and truckers) let that lifeblood flow instead of clogging the land’s biggest artery will be another altogether.
It’s a start. If a private sector giant manages to pull this massive rabbit out of a tiny hat, maybe the railways will be next?
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