Transnet Signs Deal With Durban Port Owner To Expand the Main Terminal
- South Africa has signed its first port privatisation concession deal with a Filipino company to extend the Durban Port's main terminal
- Transnet signed a deal which will see Filipino Billionaire Enrique Razon invest almost R11 billion in expanding the terminal
- This comes after the World Bank ranked the Durban Port as the worst in the world due to its struggles with processing ships and shipments
With 10 years of experience, Tebogo Mokwena, Briefly News’ Deputy Head of Current Affairs, has provided insights into infrastructure challenges and state-owned enterprises in South Africa, having worked at Daily Sun and Vutivi Business News.
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DURBAN, KWAZULU-NATAL — Transnet has signed a deal with a Filipino billionaire who will invest at least R11 million in the Durban Port.
According to Daily Investor, Transnet signed a concession agreement with Razon's company, International Container Terminal Services Inc. (ICTSI), two years after signing a similar deal with the company to manage the port for 25 years. Razon is expected to invest at least R11 billion into expanding the terminal.
Transnet CEO speaks about deal
Transnet's CEO, Michelle Phillips, commented on the deal. She said on 10 December 2025 that the partnership was groundbreaking, as it is a step towards realizing the port's ambition to be one of the best in the world. She said that the agreement will see the improvement of Pier 2, which handles 70% of the port's throughput and over a third of the country's container volumes.
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Transnet also delivered four new ship-to-shore cranes in October 2025, worth R967 million to replace the older cranes at Pier 2. Transnet also announced that its year-on-year volumes increased by 28.8%. This was after the World Bank released a report in which it ranked the port as the worst port in the world. ICTSI will have 49% control over a new entity, which will now own the port.
President Cyril Ramaphosa launched an initiative in 2024 to restore the port to its former glory. He formed the eThekwin working group tasked with fixing the Port of Durban. He launched the Newlyn PX Terminal to address the congestion on the N3 between Durban and Johannesburg. The group was also tasked with repositioning the eThekwini Municipality. The terminal was built on land leased from Transnet.
R521 billion used to bail out state-owned enterprises
In a related article, Briefly News reported that the government spent R521 billion in 15 years to bail out state-owned enterprises. Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana made the revelation at the launch of a World Bank report in February 2025. He said the state bailed out SOEs like Telkom, Transnet, and Eskom.
Godongwana said that Eskom received the most bailouts, with R496 billion spent on rescuing the power supplier. The South African National Roads Agency received R47 billion, and Transnet received bailouts of R61 billion. Godongwana said that the money was made without raising taxes. Some netizens disagreed.
"Taxpayers also bail out private companies. We are yet to see a comparison between the two from one of the media houses," a netizen said.
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Source: Briefly News
