China-based port equipment supplier Shanghai Zhenhua Heavy Industries (ZPMC) has entered the South African rubber-tyred gantry (RTG) market for the first time by winning a bid to supply 17 machines to the Port of Durban and Cape Town of Trasnet Group of South Africa.
The project was tendered in October 2020 and lasted for eight months. ZPMC said it has broken the monopoly of foreign enterprises in the South African RTG market by winning the bid.
The Port of Durban is the largest container port in southern Africa, and the Port of Cape Town is the southernmost container port in the African continent.
The two ports together undertake more than 80% of the container handling business in South Africa. Up to now, ZPMC has 7 quay cranes in the Port of Durban.
The 22 straddle carriers won the bid in 2020 are all being debugged on site, and there is one RMG in the Port of Cape Town. This bid has once again expanded ZPMC’s product layout in South Africa.
The 17 RTGs won the bid are highly automated, which is in line with the current trend of terminal automation.
After putting into operation, the operation efficiency of South African ports and the local economic development will be improved.