Expert SpeakRaisina Debates
Published on Aug 25, 2026
Ports may be the gateway to global trade, but South Africa’s economic reach depends on the corridors that connect them to inland and regional markets
This is part of the essay series:Sagarmanthan Edit 2026.
Over 80 percent of international trade is by sea, and the ocean economy, by its nature, depends on seamless connections between ports and inland economies. The growth and competitive advantage of port cities depend on constant, innovative improvements in port infrastructure, operations, and transport connectivity to the mainland. These support three major features of maritime transport: hinterland, port regionalism, and transport corridors. In a 2008 United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) report on container movements in seven major northern European ports, road connectivity was shown to account for the largest share of container movement, at over 50 percent, followed by transhipment (deep sea to feeder) at around 40 percent, rail at almost 30 percent, and inland waterway at around 20 percent.
In South Africa, the road freight corridor remains important for cargo movement, with daily truck volumes expected to increase from approximately 4,200 vehicles per day to 8,500 vehicles per day by 2042. <a href="https://research.knowledge.afreximbank.com/do/10.5555/59944f1b7ac91794a6636de98aa686862ac3def487958f4628c4a6f569cc80dd/full/media/studying-on-trade-carrying-infrastructure-gap-in-southern-african-development-community-sadc.pdf” rel=”nofollow noopener” target=”_blank”>The distribution pattern from the Port of Durban shows 21 percent of cargo moving north, 61 percent west, and 18 percent south, with the 61 percent share to the west reflecting connectivity to South Africa’s major economic region of Gauteng Province, and to the neighbouring countries of Zimbabwe, Botswana, and Zambia. All maritime transport policies, regulations, and innovations seek to improve these three areas, in order to achieve free-flowing freight between harbour and inland economies. Effective connectivity is essential for optimising cargo flow, reducing transit times, and ensuring timely delivery of goods.
In the past 20 years, the maritime industry has been undergoing major transformation on two fronts. First is the decarbonisation of shipping, as imposed by the International Maritime Organisation (IMO), which has set a target of zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050. This applies to shipping lines and port operators, including multimodal transportation by rail and road. Second is the digitalisation of the industry, driven by the fourth and fifth industrial revolutions. Ships and ports are going digital, which has, in turn, also had a positive impact on the industry’s decarbonisation.
As global shipping evolves, countries and companies continue to invest in port efficiency — reducing congestion and traffic, advancing port regionalisation, and strengthening transport corridors.
In the past six years, the industry has also faced a series of successive shocks, starting with COVID-19 and continuing through to the current Strait of Hormuz conflict, which have pushed the sector towards digitalisation in order to facilitate freight movement smoothly with limited human capacity. As global shipping evolves, countries and companies continue to invest in port efficiency — reducing congestion and traffic, advancing port regionalisation, and strengthening transport corridors.
South Africa’s Regional Gateway
South Africa has a coastline of about 2,800 kilometres at the bottom tip of Africa, with two major oceans — the Indian and the Atlantic — converging and covering the east and west respectively. This makes South Africa a gateway to many landlocked Southern African countries, and its harbours key to inland regional economies. Key to the efficiency of connectivity is the development and maintenance of corridors that link port cities, hinterlands, and inland regions. More than 96 percent of the country’s imports and exports move by sea transportation.
Transnet National Ports Authority processed over 4.4 million twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs) of containers in 2022. Freight rates for shipping 20-foot containers from Shanghai to Durban increased dramatically between December 2020 and December 2021. While in December 2020, the index stood at US$ 2,521, it reached US$ 6,450 in December 2021. In 2021, the South African transport, storage, and communication sector contributed an added value of approximately 333.8 billion rand (roughly US$ 19.3 billion) to the country’s gross domestic product (GDP).
It is important to note that South Africa lacks the inland waterways available to countries such as the United States (US) and China, and relies instead solely on rail and road for inland freight connectivity.
South Africa has eight major ports along its coastal cities, each specialising in handling different cargo: Richards Bay, Durban, East London, Ngqura, Port Elizabeth, Mossel Bay, Cape Town, and Saldanha Bay. These ports are managed by the Transnet Group through its seven subsidiaries. These include the Transnet National Ports Authority, which ensures port efficiency, and Transnet Freight Rail and Pipeline, which ensure effective connectivity between these ports and the hinterland through established corridors.
South Africa is also host to two of six major Southern African trade corridors, running from the Port of Durban, through the hinterland of South Africa, and into Southern African regional economies. When corridors work well, they shorten transit times, lower costs, and help grow trade volumes. Southern African Development Community (SADC) committees found that only 25 percent of transport delays occur due to physical infrastructure problems, while 75 percent stem from poor facilitation of existing infrastructure; complicated border procedures and customs regulations, meanwhile, cause transport interruptions of up to 24 hours — costing regional businesses an estimated US$50 million, according to a 1996 assessment. If corridors do not function as well, whether due to poor infrastructure, border inefficiencies, or fragmented operations, the cost is borne by every business in the supply chain. This underscores the importance of multimodal transportation in international trade, and the need for innovative systems to manage the facilitation of multimodal transport through digitalisation.
Strengthening the Corridors
On rail infrastructure, Transnet has embarked on a rigorous effort to revive and protect rail infrastructure along the important corridors linking ports to inland hubs. The group aims to procure security services — including more than 1,000 security guards, nearly 100 vehicles, several crime-prevention motorcycles, K9 dogs, and water-resistant drones — to protect the central corridor, a key part of the North-South Southern African corridor, from recent cable theft, robbery, and other crimes. This is also intended to protect 11 private train operating companies that were recently permitted to move freight between ports and the hinterland. This effort also signals Transnet’s willingness to invest in new security technologies, in line with recent global shifts in shipping and logistics.
On road infrastructure, the South African National Roads Agency Limited (SANRAL) is currently undertaking major road corridor infrastructure development, expanding and adding lanes to existing roads that connect South Africa’s ports to the hinterland. Through the government’s Strategic Integrated Projects, the aim is to strengthen the logistics and transport corridor between South Africa’s main industrial hubs, improve access to Durban’s export and import facilities, and raise efficiency along the corridor.
The Way Forward
Ocean economy and international trade depend on efficient integration of ports with inland regional economies through well-developed and maintained freight corridors. Investment in port, rail and road infrastructure is an important foundation in maritime, which is followed by investment in innovation and technology to supplement operations and ease constraints on fundamental infrastructure. South Africa is currently taking advantage of its strategic geographical location by investing in infrastructure, aiming to connect ports to the mainland and into neighbouring countries.
Ocean economy and international trade depend on efficient integration of ports with inland regional economies through well-developed and maintained freight corridors.
Maintaining a healthy funding model, such as the Port Regulator’s Tariff Methodology, is very important for the growth and efficiency of the ports. Along with the rest of the world, South Africa must catch up and invest in digitalisation of the ports, which includes automation and AI-driven logistics. Organisations such as the eThekwini Maritime Cluster invest in Ocean Innovation Challenge programmes to involve school learners and youth in addressing maritime challenges through innovative ideas and prototypes. These efforts lead to the development and growth of “Oceanpreneurs”. South Africa must prioritise declarations on deals with hinterland transport, with three measures identified: (a) use efficient and innovative logistics to lower the requirement for hinterland transport; (b) encourage and facilitate modal shift towards clean and energy-efficient transport modes; (c) stimulate improvements in the environmental performance of all transport modes.
Sibusiso Zondois Training and Skills Development Coordinator at the eThekwini Maritime Cluster, South Africa, with 10 years of experience in the maritime sector.
The views expressed above belong to the author(s). ORF research and analyses now available on Telegram! Click here to access our curated content — blogs, longforms and interviews.
Author
Sibusiso Zondo
Sibusiso Zondo is Training and Skills Development Coordinator at the eThekwini Maritime Cluster in Durban, South Africa, with 10 years of experience in the maritime …
Related Search Terms
Publications
Advancing Gender-Responsive Just Transitions in India’s Coal Belt
Coal
Aug 25, 2026
From Port to Market: Strengthening South Africa’s Hinterland Connectivity
Connectivity
Aug 25, 2026
Series
