Richards Bay’s Naval Island truck staging area not on the cards
A call has been made for Transnet to amend the plan
Last week’s proposal by Transnet to utilise Naval Island in Richards Bay as a truck staging area to alleviate congestion on the N2 has been scrapped.
According to Ward 2 Councillor Christo Botha, who was vehemently opposed to the idea, the plan was ‘doomed for failure’ and ‘the worst plan I have ever heard’.
“Businesses [at] Small Craft Harbour will be destroyed, tourism will be severely affected, and the volumes of trucks will make life a living nightmare for residents in the immediate area,” said Botha, calling on Transnet to amend the plan.
However, the proposal appears to have caused confusion, with it being unclear as to whether or not Transnet intended for the Naval Island truck staging plan to be a permanent solution or a temporary alleviation to the trucking problem.
The months-long truck congestion crisis came to a head last Thursday when all lanes on both the north- and south-bound carriageways of the N2 were totally blocked north of Richards Bay as hundreds of trucks queued to await access to the John Ross highway and on to the Port of Richards Bay.
A decision was taken to park the trucks onto the Empangeni airfield, a move that caused the destruction of the airstrip.
Attempting to clarify the Naval Island proposal, City of uMhlathuze municipal manager Nkosenye Zulu said he was under the impression it was intended as a temporary relief measure to rid the airfield of parked trucks, but that he would oppose it as a permanent plan.
“Transnet, as at meeting end, could only absorb 200 trucks out of the lot, hence Naval Island was preferred until the congestion was obliterated,” said Zulu.
“I therefore distance the city from Naval Island being utilised on a semi-permanent basis.”
Meanwhile, Transnet said the potential use of Naval Island was not required in the end, as all trucks were moved into the Port of Richards Bay by Friday evening.
“There is no intention or plan from TNPA to use Naval Island for truck staging moving forward,” said Transnet.
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