Grindrod has opened a new 130 000m2 intermodal terminal in Denver, Johannesburg.

The R200 million investment has created 100 permanent jobs, not including the 2 500 construction workers that were employed for three years as the facility was being built.

There has also been an increased need for employees and security personnel due to creation of an 18 000 m2 on-site warehouse.

Terminal capacity at the terminal is around 1 000 000 tons of containerised cargo and more than 100 000 containers a year.

A further R12 million will be injected towards the development of a rail siding at the terminal, which is expected to be completed by December, which should yield significant cost reductions in the logistics supply chain.

Consolidation of the company’s existing facilities in the new terminal has created a transport hub that connects regional markets to Maputo in Mozambique and Richards Bay in Durban.

The company’s customers now have the option of consolidating and storing their goods in Gauteng, before packing them into containers and transporting them to Durban for shipment.

This should hasten turnaround times for trucks, which reduces supply chain costs and increases efficiency. The new terminal is not in competition with Transnet but was built to complement the transport parastatal’s existing facilities.