West Coast Business News & Directory.

Transnet Saldanha Bay, plans to buy up to 100 locomotives

State-owned freight logistics group Transnet will aim to purchase between 75 and 100 locomotives a year over “a prolonged period” to reduce the average age of its locomotive fleet from 30 years to below 20 years, acting CEO Chris Wells reports. Writing in the group’s 2010 annual report, released on Friday, Wells indicated that the intention was to “smooth” the acquisition...

Transnet considers ship repair facility for Saldanha Bay

TRANSNET was assessing proposals for a business plan to set up a ship repair facility, Vuyo Kahla, a group executive in the office of the group chief executive, said yesterday. Kahla said no decision had been taken yet on whether the facility would indeed be established and where it would be situated, as the company still needed to evaluate its viability. “Every now and again, people raise the...

Saldanha Bay possible coal export port.

JOHANNESBURG, Feb 22 (Reuters) – expects to focus its diversification strategy on coal and copper, with a new coal mine envisaged within the next three to four years, head of its coal unit said on Monday. Mangisi Gule said the growing power demand in the country justified the investment, and said the new mine would most likely be built in the north-eastern Mpumalanga province where the necessary...

South African commodity lines at heart of Transnet investment plans

Mining Weekly reported that Transnet commodity corridors in South Africa were likely to be the main beneficiaries of the State owned transport utility’s expanded 5 year capital investment program. Mr Chris Wells acting CEO of Transnet said that the new plan, which would be unveiled in February, would probably involve a 10% increase in the budget of the current rolling plan which stands at ZAR...

Transnet considering investment on the West Coast.

State freight logistics group Transnet, in consultation with manganese exporters, expects to decide within the “next four to five months” whether to develop a new export channel through the deepwater harbour at Saldanha Bay, on South Africa’s West Coast, or to proceed with an alternative model involving ports on the country’s eastern seaboard. Acting CEO Chris Wells tells Engineering...

Saldanha water quality has a worrying down trend.

Despite some positive signs regarding improved water quality readings in Saldanha Bay and the Langebaan lagoon – an internationally protected Ramsar site – the overall picture is of a natural environment being incrementally degraded, say scientists.The ‘State of the Bay 2008: Saldanha Bay and Langebaan Lagoon’ report by Anchor Environmental Consultants, released on Thursday last week,...

Transnet Saldanha Bay

Global locomotive supplier GE Transportation has completed the installation of a distributed power system on the Orex iron-ore line, making it possible to increase the line’s freight capacity. South Africa’s Orex line, which is owned and managed by State-owned utility Transnet, is the critical ore feeder line running from Kumba’s Sishen mine, in the Northern Cape, to the Port of Saldanha Bay,...