Transnet awards R60m contract for solar-powered desalination plant at Port of East London

A Transnet National Ports Authority (TNPA) statement on Wednesday said the project was expected to create around 100 jobs and “... improve the reliability of freshwater supply to users of South Africa’s only river port, the Port of East London.”

“The introduction of this alternative water solution is a step towards the advancement of the port system and seeks to minimise TNPA’s reliance on external parties for the provision of fresh water,” said acting TNPA chief executive, Phyllis Difeto.

South Africa’s water supply infrastructure is in a shambles as a trio of audit reports made clear in December and which has since become painfully apparent in major metros such as Johannesburg.

Read more in Daily Maverick: Official reports reveal massive scale of the waste, pollution and poorly treated water crisis

This is mostly a result of shoddy governance which has also seen rivers and streams fouled by the breakdown of sewage plants. Adding to this, climate change is emerging as a threat to water security.   

Desalination, which effectively removes the salt from saltwater to make it drinkable, is one obvious solution as South Africa has more than 2,800km of coastline. 

But it is costly and power-intensive. 

South Africa has only a handful of such plants. The first in the Eastern Cape, in Port Alfred, closed last year over a payment dispute. 

Read more in Daily Maverick: Eastern Cape’s first desalination plant forced to close

Hopefully, TNPA’s East London project will have a happier outcome. Since it will be solar-powered, it will have a green sheen and not have to rely on unreliable Eskom.

The project contract has been awarded to a joint venture; Norland Civil Engineers and Contractors and Impact Water Solutions, trading as Sun Water East London.

The initiative is also Transnet’s latest embrace of the private sector as it attempts to reverse a meltdown in its performance from rail to port, which has mired the South African economy in a logistics crisis.

Read more in Daily Maverick: Transnet unveils 100 private sector leasing opportunities at its ports

It is yet another indication that new Transnet CEO Michelle Phillips wants to do things differently and get things done. DM