The National Department of Transport has today pronounced on the approval of the application to grant Karpowership access to the three Ports of Ngqura, Durban and Saldanha Bay for a period of 20 years. The application was approved by the Minister on 26 February 2023.

The approval is in line with the National Ports Act No. 12 of 2005, which gives powers to the Minister to approve applications of this nature.

The Minister considered the application in terms of National Ports Act Section 79 (1) (a) and (b) to safeguard the national security of the Country and to discharge the international obligations of the Republic.

The Transnet National Ports Authority (TNPA) was consulted and supported the approval of the application.

It is for this reason that the Minister gave the TNPA latitude to make necessary decisions in implementing this Directive, such as considering the safety measures and operation ability of this Directive.

As a result, the following conditions were attached in the approval:

a) “TNPA reserves the right to include all the necessary commercial and safety requirements or agreements that are considered necessary during the period of this Directive”

b) “The Directive is also subject to all other government approvals such as Environmental approvals from competent government departments and/or authorities”.

Source: Government of South Africa