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Royal Vopak and its partner Reatile have announced that an investment decision has been taken to further expand their activities in South Africa.

The new investment aims to enhance Vopak's infrastructure to help meet South Africa's increasing demand for petroleum products.

The expansion comprises the following two projects:

- A new 100,000-cubic-metre (cbm) inland terminal in Gauteng province connected to Vopak Terminal Durban via the Transnet Multi Product Pipeline.

- A 130,000-cbm expansion of Vopak Terminal Durban.

The new state-of-the art inland terminal is to be built in Lesedi, located in Gauteng province. The new terminal will consist of six tanks with a total capacity of 100,000 cbm, eight truck loading bays with a vapour recovery system and a pipeline connection to the state-owned New Multi Product Pipeline (NMPP) for refined petroleum products.

The NMPP is running from the Port of Durban to Gauteng where currently around 70 percent of South Africa's fuel demand is concentrated. The pipeline reduces the need for road transport from Durban to Gauteng via truck, this giving customers a more cost-effective, scalable, safe and environmentally friendly way to supply the region. Vopak Terminal Durban and Vopak Terminal Lesedi will be the first major open access independent tank terminals connected to the NMPP, connecting the Port of Durban with the Gauteng province.

The expansion of Vopak Terminal Durban will comprise 10 new state-of-the art tanks with a total capacity of 162,000 cbm as well as the demolition of 38 older small tanks. The net increase in capacity will be 130,000 cbm. Furthermore, investments are to also be made in three additional truck loading bays connected to the existing vapour recovery system, additional (berth) pipelines and a new marine loading arm. Upon completion, the total capacity of Vopak Terminal Durban will amount to 371,926 cbm.

Vopak Terminal Durban (Pty) Ltd. is a partnership between Royal Vopak (70%) and Reatile Chemicals (30%). Vopak Terminal Durban is well connected via pipelines to the (refining) industry in the Port of Durban.