Durban — A Durban-born businessman has received a pat on the back from President Cyril Ramaphosa for his part in revitalising the economy after setbacks caused by the Covid-19 pandemic, the 2021 civil unrest and disastrous weather conditions.
Ramaphosa delivered the keynote address on Thursday at Durban Bayhead where Raj Balmakhun introduced his multibillion-rand massive new Newlyn Park Bayhead Rail Terminal facility.
The R3.4 billion project will boost the economies of KwaZulu-Natal and Gauteng by contributing to fast-tracking the transportation of cargo at the Port of Durban, and transfer of cargo from the N3 highway to rail.
It will also expand job opportunities by bringing in massive investment into the country.
Ramaphosa hailed the project, saying: “It is a great day, a great day because it is a day on which we mark the completion and launch of the new Newlyn Park Bayhead Rail Terminal as a project at the Port of Durban, a much-needed boost for South Africa’s logistic infrastructure network.
“It is the attainment of a vision of a man who stood at an investment conference that we held and articulated a clear direction where he wanted to go as a businessman.”
Balmakhun first introduced the idea of building the terminal at a 2019 conference in Johannesburg.
Ramaphosa said the terminal was a symbol of recovering resilience for the City of Durban, the province, and the country.
Four years ago, the country was brought to a standstill by Covid-19 when the government, and much of the world, imposed a lockdown. As the economy began recovering, in July 2021 KwaZulu-Natal and Gauteng suffered the loss of about R50bn during eight days of rioting by masses who looted and destroyed many businesses after former President Jacob Zuma’s imprisonment for defying the Constitutional Court order to appear before the State Capture Commission.
In 2022, devastating floods in KwaZulu-Natal ‒ especially Durban ‒ crippled infrastructure and businesses.
“We all recall seeing the images of the damage caused to the Port of Durban at the time, with containers just floating around almost at sea, especially in and around Bayhead Road. We saw much damage.
“We know the extensive work and efforts it took to restore operations and to get the port and its associated infrastructure up and running again,” Ramaphosa said.
He added: “Balmakhun, as we sat at the (conference) table, he said we are never going to give up on this country.
“I would like to congratulate and thank him for having that never-give-up spirit.
“So thank you very much for never giving up.
“I often said that we are a resilient people, we are people who don’t give up, we are people who follow the footsteps of Nelson Mandela, Oliver Reginald Tambo and many others who, even when it was dark, with Nelson Mandela imprisoned for life, never gave up,” said Ramaphosa.
Balmakhun promised that the company, which he established 28 years ago, would invest in reducing climate change by making the terminal, whose building’s roof is covered with solar panels, a source of green energy.
“Mr President, you will be happy to note that this terminal has been constructed to accommodate the infrastructure to generate 30MW of solar energy.
“This has been positioned to meet the needs of our tenants but also to nimbly respond to future TNPA (Transnet National Ports Authority) or eThekwini RFPs for renewable power.
“To put it into perspective, the solar capability of the roof space here can make the Port of Durban the first green-powered port in Africa,” he said.
Balmakhun added that Richards Bay, in northern KZN, would also benefit from Newlyn’s natural gas power that would produce 320MW of electricity.
Independent on Saturday