Port of Gauteng Initiative: The drive to achieving an integrated logistics network - RFA

THE Road Freight Association (RFA) has reviewed the recently released White Paper from Port of Gauteng and it notes that the developers have targeted a very ambitious project to address the huge shortfalls in the current logistics network, especially around rail and multi-modal operations involving rail, as well as the fundamental necessity of involving and allowing the private-sector to drive the integration of logistics.

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The R50 billion project represents a pivotal opportunity to address the systemic inefficiencies crippling South Africa’s economic arteries, particularly the Durban-Gauteng freight corridor.

The RFA has long championed an integrated, multimodal logistics network where road and rail function as collaborative partners, not competitors.

The vision outlined in Port of Gauteng White Paper, “to create a premier trade gateway that restores balance to our supply chain’, resonates deeply with the core principles of bringing about integrated freight operations and infrastructure.

Over the past four decades, the RFA has advocated for the development of inland ports to alleviate the severe congestion at the ports, and the freight handling operations immediately surrounding the ports, as well as inland depots like City Deep. The White Paper correctly identifies the unsustainable pressure on the Port of Durban, a bottleneck that ripples through the entire economy — with an echo in the current inland freight handling depots.

The RFA has spent decades interacting with SARS Customs to make international trade (cross border freight movement requiring declarations to Customs) as simple and efficient as possible.

This has (together with other stakeholders) realised the current electronic clearance processes and the drive towards SmartBorders - making goods declaration and clearance possible anywhere and at any time by registered importers and exporters. This no longer requires a “centralised facility” where importers and exporters need to present themselves and the relevant documentation. Block Chain has also brought efficiencies - however container staging at strategic hubs (outside of the ports) such as Cato Ridge and the proposed hub in Gauteng will unlock further significant efficiencies.