Andre Klynsmith

Ports and Terminals

A Berth for Gas: Ngqura Has Committed 25 Years of Port Capacity to an LNG Terminal

Transnet National Ports Authority has signed a 25-year terminal operator agreement with Ukwanda LNG for an onshore liquefied natural gas import and regasification facility at the Port of Ngqura in the Eastern Cape. The project carries a reported investment value of about R22 billion, with TNPA committing a further R2 billion to build a dedicated LNG berth.

Ports and Terminals

31 August 2026 • 4 min read

A quarter of a century of berth capacity at one of South Africa’s youngest deep-water ports has now been allocated to a single commodity. For operators who move containers, manganese and automotive cargo through the Eastern Cape, the important detail is not the gas — it is what a dedicated berth does to the port’s capacity map between now and 2035.

What Was Actually Signed

The agreement is a terminal operator agreement, not a construction contract. It gives Ukwanda LNG — a joint venture between Tamasa Energy Group and the state-owned Strategic Fuel Fund — the right to develop and operate permanent onshore LNG import and regasification infrastructure at Ngqura for 25 years. The development has been designated a Strategic Integrated Project, which is the classification South Africa applies to infrastructure it wants pushed through the permitting system faster than normal.

The declared scope goes well beyond a jetty. It covers onshore infrastructure to supply gas to off-takers, industry, data centres and independent power producers, enabling roughly 3,500 MW of electricity generation inside the Coega Special Economic Zone. TNPA’s own R2 billion is earmarked for a dedicated LNG berth, and full operationalisation is targeted for 2035.

Why a Dedicated Berth Is the Part That Matters

Ports allocate two scarce things: quay metres and back-of-port land. A dedicated LNG berth removes a slot from the general pool permanently, and LNG berths carry exclusion zones and safety protocols that constrain what can happen on adjacent quays while a carrier is alongside. That is a normal cost of hosting energy cargo, but it is a cost that shows up in someone else’s berthing window.

Ngqura matters here because it has been the stable end of South Africa’s container network. Through most of 2026, Eastern Cape terminals have run vessel waiting times of roughly a day while Durban has spent weeks measuring delays in days rather than hours. Any structural change to Ngqura’s capacity profile is therefore a change to the fallback option many shippers have been quietly relying on.

The Freight Work Between Now and 2035

A nine-year runway to full operation means the near-term freight opportunity is construction, not gas. Regasification terminals consume abnormal loads: storage tank sections, cryogenic pipework, compressors and modular process skids, most of it routed from a port or a fabrication yard to a site inside the same industrial zone. Operators with abnormal-load permits, escort capability and Eastern Cape depot presence are the ones positioned to bid.

The second-phase opportunity is distribution. If the terminal delivers gas to industrial off-takers and independent power producers rather than only to a pipeline, that implies a road tanker fleet, a specialised driver pool and a maintenance regime that very few SADC hauliers currently run. Neither of those workstreams starts in 2035. Both start when construction contracts are awarded, and that is the milestone worth tracking.

About the Author
	Andre Klynsmith Entrepreneur & Technology Enthusiast Andre's expertise spans technology, blockchain, transport, and logistics — with a passion for innovation and driving positive change across industries. info@laaimylorrie.com | laaimylorrie.com