South Africa’s biggest transport company is looking for a partner for its R44 billion project

South Africa’s state-owned ports and rail operator is looking for a private partner to expand and operate a key manganese corridor that will cost as much as R44 billion ($2.7 billion) to roll out. 

Transnet SOC Ltd. issued a request for qualifications for the Ngqura manganese export corridor that runs from mines in the Northern Cape province to ports in the Eastern Cape on Friday. 

The harbours at Port Elizabeth and Ngqura — two of several where the steelmaking ingredient leaves South Africa — have become “fragmented and inefficient, ” resulting in significant road haulage, increased logistics costs and growing environmental and social impacts.

The upgrade will form part of the logistics giant’s private sector participation program “through which the company seeks to attract investment and leverage private-sector expertise to strengthen infrastructure performance,” it said.

The southern African country has some of the world’s largest reserves of the mineral, used in steel production and battery manufacturing.

The deadline for applications is Feb. 26.