Limpopo Business 2017-18 edition

OVERVIEW
Transport and logistics
Limpopo’s location makes it ideal for logistics operations.
SECTOR INSIGHT
Polokwane is investing in a
bus rapid transport system.
• The N1 and N11 highways
link South Africa to its
neighbours.
The N1 highway, “The Road to the North” is an extremely busy road
and growing mining operations are putting pressure on secondary
routes in the province. In this context, Transnet Freight Rail’s
stated aim of getting larger quantities of freight moved from road
back to rail is good news for everyone.
A similar theme is behind the bus rapid transport system being
introduced in the provincial capital, Polokwane, except here the goal
is to get commuters into public busses. The scheme is called Leeto la
Polokwane. Within the province more broadly, 22.6% of households
in Limpopo use bus transport and 45.8% use taxis (2013 Household
Travel Survey).
Increasing rail volumes out of the coal-rich Waterberg area is something
that has been on the cards for some time but this project may
have to wait until commodity prices recover. Transnet Freight Rail (TFR)
is conducting a feasibility study. An extension of 464km would cost
about R37-billion, so TFR may look for private partners. If more coal
mines are developed, then capacity could be ramped up in stages.
All of this would be delivered to Richards Bay via the line through
Mpumalanga and KwaZulu-Natal. Eskom’s huge new power station in
western Limpopo (Medupi) will need lots of coal but is experiencing
long delays in construction.
Logistics is a vital feature of the Limpopo economy for two reasons
– the province has huge volumes of raw produce to be transported to
markets elsewhere, and the province
is strategically positioned. In
addition to the N1 highway, the
N11 is a primary road corridor
and there are nine provincial
road corridors.
Freight volumes on the N11
(to Botswana and Mpumalanga)
have increased markedly since
2006, whereas the R33 has carried
less traffic.
South Africa’s major logistics
companies have facilities in
Polokwane, and some have warehouses
and forwarding facilities in
other parts of the province. RTT
has offices in Makhado. Limpopo’s
biggest exports (minerals and fruit
and vegetables) require dramatically
different levels of handling.
Minerals are poured in great volumes
into the freight trucks of TFR
and taken onward to Richards Bay
Coal Terminal, whereas some of
the province’s fruits like avocadoes
have to be handled with
extreme care. They must be delivered
to ports as quickly as possible
as they are delicate and the
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