Transnet National Ports Authority (TNPA) has signed a landmark agreement with Ukwanda LNG to build and operate a gas facility at the Port of Ngqura for the next 25 years.
The planned Ngqura gas facility will support the development of South Africa’s gas infrastructure and broader energy security.
The development has been designated a national Strategic Integrated Project, aimed at strengthening the country’s long-term energy security by advancing the gas infrastructure enabling gas availability to help stabilise electricity supply.
The project is valued at around R22 billion. TNPA will build a dedicated LNG berth valued at R2 billion and development of the onshore facility will take place in parallel. The date targeted for full operation is 2035.
Announcing the project at the end of May, Transnet said the development of an onshore LNG regasification facility at the deepwater Port of Ngqura is a direct response to South Africa’s Just Energy Transition programme, which aims to establish a 6 000 MW gas-to-power pipeline. The LNG facility will serve as critical fuel infrastructure to support a 3 000 MW gas-to-power allocation, providing lower-carbon baseload electricity to complement the country’s growing renewable energy mix.
The project also includes the establishment of a temporary floating unit.
The permanent onshore infrastructure to be built will supply gas to a range of offtakers, industry, data centres and independent power producers, enabling the generation of about 3 500 MW of electricity within the Coega Special Economic Zone (SEZ).
The initiative aligns with Transnet’s ongoing operational recovery and infrastructure-led growth strategy, Reinvent for Growth.
Through this public-private partnership, TNPA continues to leverage strategic collaboration and expertise to modernise port infrastructure, contributing to the advance of national development priorities.
Transnet Group Chief Executive Michelle Phillips said: “This agreement represents a major shift in how South Africa uses its commercial seaports to support national energy security.
“In formalising this terminal operator agreement, TNPA is executing its landlord mandate, and building the foundational infrastructure needed to support industrial growth and deliver reliable, lower-carbon energy to the national grid.”
The project is expected to create more than 500 jobs during the planned 36-month construction period, and 50 permanent jobs once construction is complete. These opportunities are expected to drive further investment, skills development and industrial growth in the Eastern Cape.
Speaking on behalf of Ukwanda LNG, Professor Anna Mokgokong, Chairperson of Tamasa Energy Group, said the signing of the agreement reflected the group’s long-term conviction, disciplined effort and a shared belief in the strategic value of the project for South Africa’s energy future, logistics capability and economic development.
“For the Eastern Cape, this project represents infrastructure that can unlock jobs, skills development, local participation and renewed economic momentum, supporting energy security and South Africa’s broader transition to a more diversified, lower-carbon energy mix,” Mokgokong said.
For more information visit: www.sanews.gov.za
