Ten buildings to be demolished ahead of automotive sector expansion project

Transnet National Port Authorities (TNPA) are going to begin demolishing 10 buildings in the eThekwini Municipality as the SOE prepares for an expansion of its automotive sector, providing much needed space to a sector that contributes around 5% to the national GDP.

But preservation groups, headed by individuals from the KwaZulu-Natal Institute of Architects, are not happy with the demolition plans, particularly plans to destroy the Ocean Terminal Building (OTB). Demolition will start in early 2024, Transnet said.

The D/E, L, M, N Sheds, MHA Building, OTB, Durmarine Building, Schoeman's bridge, and the spiral ramp structure in the Durban harbour will be flattened to make way for the new terminals in line with the Point precinct redevelopment. While economic progress is much needed in Durban, KwaZulu-Natal and the country as a whole, the preservation of artistic expression should also take importance in the development of a society.

Art in many ways, is the expression of the soul. Over centuries, human beings have expressed their feelings towards the world around them through art. Architecture is a crucial part when it comes to the collection and preservation of ancient art. From the arch of Titus to the Taj Mahal – buildings have endured time because people recognise their significance and the symbol it plays in society.

Be it to remember wars and peace or to honour a loved one – good architecture has the ability to breathe life into a metropolis. This is what the OTB building means to architects like Lindsay Napier and Kirk White. Shortly after the announcement to destroy the OTB was made, IOL contacted Napier and asked why they considered fighting for the building in the first place.

"The OTB isn't just an ordinary building. Yes, it does look different in terms of its design on the outside and the structure used at the base, but the building itself, was years ahead of its time when it was built. "This was the 60s, saving the environment and using sustainable materials and all of that was not a concern for people. But the architects who built the OTB still considered all of that and built it in that way. It was years ahead of everything in the city.

“There were no other buildings in the city that looked like the OTB. It was truly one of a kind," Napier said, disappointed at the news of the demolition. Janusc Warunkiewicz was appointed as the architect on the project in 1959. The building was completed in 1962. Despite their efforts to save the building, the KwaZulu-Natal Amafa and Research Institute (Amafa) Act granted Transnet permission to demolish the OTB, as well as a number of others.

But Transnet is hopeful of the future, as Mpumi Dweba-Kwetana, Port Manager at the Port of Durban, said this expansion project could create "500 000" jobs. The manufacturing sector, under which the automotive industry falls, took a heavy knock in the fourth quarter of 2022, as the national GDP declined 1.3%, according to StatsSA. The manufacturing sector declined by 0.9% from October to December 2022.

"The successful implementation of the Point Precinct’s redevelopment will have a significantly positive socio-economic impact for not only the City of Durban, but also for the province of KwaZulu-Natal and South Africa as a whole.

“We anticipate the creation of about 500 000 direct and indirect employment opportunities throughout the implementation of the Durban Port Master plan developments, which will improve the lives and livelihoods of the economically disenfranchised people of South Africa. On the basis of six to eight members per family, the lives of three million people will be positively impacted,” Dweba said.