Infrastructure has been key to turning around the Durban port's performance.
Investing in infrastructure, increasing private sector participation and the introduction of a new employee incentive scheme at the Durban port have been credited with turning the facility into one of the most improved ports in the world. Logistics parastatal Transnet has detailed the changes it made to the port, which improved it from one of the worst performers in 2024 to one of the most improved in 2025.
The parastatal detailed its work to fix the port following the release of the World Bank 2025 Container Port Performance Index (CPPI) a few days ago. The report revealed that Durban port had improved from its performance in 2024. The Mercury reported last year on the 2024 report, which painted a troubling picture of the port of Durban’s performance, ranking it as the 403rd busiest port globally and placing it among the worst performers in the world.
In a statement, Transnet said, “The Durban Terminals within the port of Durban have recorded significant performance improvement over the past two years, driven by Transnet’s comprehensive port recovery programme, which has focused on enhancing operational efficiency, investing in critical infrastructure, modernising equipment, and increasing private sector participation.”
