Maputo/ Richards Bay coal rail deal

Expressions of interest for the contract to build the new railway through Swaziland will be sought before the end of this year. The line will take about 16 Mtpa of general freight off the existing coal line from Ermelo to Richards Bay Coal Terminal (RBCT) in the short term, opening up capacity on that railway.

In early October, Exxaro announced that it has signed a 10-year transport agreement with Transnet to carry 7.8 Mt of coal on the Lephalale line from the Waterberg Basin to Richards Bay Coal Terminal (RBCT). The deal is expected to trigger a big increase in output at Exxaro’s Grootegeluk mine, and the company’s CEO, Mxolisi Mgojo, said that it will invest ZAR10B (US$711M) in the area over the next five years.

The depressed state of the commodities sector has had an adverse impact on port and rail investments in South Africa.

South Africa’s Richards Bay Coal Terminal (RBCT) has announced a record handling target for 2017, after a fall in 2016.

South African transport utility Transnet has dropped its short-term target of boosting its coal carrying capacity on the line to Richards Bay Coal Terminal (RBCT) to 81 Mtpa, but retains its more ambitious long-term goals.

South African transport conglomerate Grindrod appears to have negotiated the same tariff with Transnet as users of Richards Bay Coal Terminal (RBCT) for coal transported to its Navitrade terminal at Richards Bay.