Transnet National Ports Authority is seeking a four-month strategy for Durban’s Maydon Wharf precinct that will assess moving mineral dry-bulk cargo to Richards Bay, reorganising terminal land and preparing for future container operations.
The request for proposals, issued on 17 September 2026, closes on 15 October at 16:00 under reference TNPA/2026/09/0002/114778/RFP. It commissions planning and professional services. It does not announce a terminal closure, an approved cargo-transfer date or the start of construction.
The tender gives a detailed account of the problems TNPA wants the strategy to resolve. It says Maydon Wharf has developed around inherited land uses, separate commercial leases and immediate operational needs, without an integrated framework for long-term land use, investment and governance.
According to the authority, that fragmented approach has produced inefficient land use, infrastructure constraints and conflict between agricultural and mineral cargo activities. The proposed strategy would define how the precinct should operate and how changes could be introduced in stages.
Maydon Wharf already handles agricultural dry bulk, break-bulk, multipurpose cargo, some liquid bulk and a small share of containers. TNPA wants the future precinct to concentrate compatible activities, review storage and terminal footprints, and accommodate eventual container-handling development.
Mineral bulk cargo handled in Durban is proposed for relocation to Richards Bay under the wider KwaZulu-Natal ports strategy. The consultant must examine the effect on existing supply chains, access to customers and suppliers, destination connectivity and economies of scale before recommending a displacement plan.
The Richards Bay side of that plan faces its own constraints. TNPA’s tender describes the dry-bulk and break-bulk terminals in the Bayvue precinct as congested and performing below their potential, with operational improvements and capacity investment required. This is the authority’s assessment in the planning document, rather than a live measurement of vessel queues on 3 October.
The commission therefore includes a preliminary implementation framework for accommodating potentially displaced cargo at Richards Bay. The document does not establish that available terminal capacity can absorb an immediate transfer from Durban.
Agricultural cargo is another part of the review. The service provider must assess the implications of moving agricultural bulk operations from Island View to Maydon Wharf. That assessment sits alongside the proposed movement of incompatible mineral cargo within the provincial port system.
For businesses looking for terminal throughput figures, the distinction matters: throughput is cargo actually handled over a stated period, while capacity is what a facility is designed or equipped to handle. This tender calls for analysis of historical cargo volumes and future demand; it does not supply a newly verified throughput series or confirm an increase in delivered capacity.
The requested baseline assessment covers cargo volumes, terminal configurations, infrastructure capacity, access routes and operational constraints. It also requires review of leases, terminal-operator arrangements and regulatory limits on changes to land use.
Road access and the interface with the city feature prominently. TNPA says oversized and project cargo can remain in the precinct for prolonged periods while awaiting Department of Transport clearance and metro-police escorts, damaging roads and stormwater infrastructure and obstructing access.
The consultant must advise on those operations, assess whether selected internal roads should change from two-way to one-way traffic, and recommend ways to separate pedestrians from trucks and cargo-handling activities.
Other work includes reviewing cargo-handling equipment, identifying opportunities for automation, examining contamination risks between commodities, and sequencing infrastructure upgrades. The land-use framework must consider consolidating terminals and reducing the number of commercial leases.
The four-month period applies to the consultancy assignment. It is not a deadline for completing terminal expansion, transferring cargo or opening new container facilities. Those outcomes would require later decisions and implementation steps.
The tender specified a compulsory clarification meeting on 23 September at Queens Warehouse, 237 Mahatma Gandhi Road. That date has passed. Prospective bidders should check the issuing authority’s current notice, meeting-attendance requirements and any amendments before treating the advertised closing date as sufficient to establish eligibility.
For Durban’s port users, the immediate development is a formal procurement to work out how Maydon Wharf’s cargo mix, land, roads and leases should change. The next substantive milestones will be appointment of the service provider, completion of the strategy and publication of any adopted implementation programme.
What it means
TNPA is procuring the strategy needed to coordinate cargo, land and infrastructure changes across Durban and Richards Bay. The tender identifies operational problems and planning tasks; it does not establish a terminal closure, completed expansion or immediate increase in throughput.
Correction history
No material correction is recorded for this article as of 3 October 2026. Any correction will be listed on the corrections register.