Hyperdrive
Private South Africa Port Project Set to Boost Manganese Exports
- One of world’s longest train to use Logistics Group facility
- State-owned Transnet’s poor performance has limited shipments
This article is for subscribers only.
The Logistics Group has built a port facility in South Africa that will enable increased volumes of a key battery metal to be offloaded from one of the world’s longest freight trains for export as the country struggles with a lack of rail capacity, according to its chief executive officer.
Volumes transported across the continent’s most industrialized nation by state-owned port and rail operator Transnet SOC Ltd. have declined over recent years due to corruption, mismanagement and a shortage of locomotives. An 861-kilometer (535-mile) line that runs from mines in Sishen to the Port of Saldanha on the west coast and is used by a 4-kilometer-long train that comprises 375 wagons has remained among the most reliable of its operations.