Growing demand for renewable energy, along with oil and gas projects, is driving DSV Mozambique’s growth in the southern African country, according to DSV Mozambique managing director, Philipp Buechler.The economic outlook in Mozambique is positive. The nation's abundant natural resources, including vast offshore gas reserves, have attracted significant investments from global energy players. These investments are not only boosting the country's energy production capacity but also creating employment opportunities and fostering economic growth.According to the World Bank, growth is expected to accelerate to 6% between 2023 and 2025, driven by continued recovery in services, increased liquefied natural gas production (LNG), and high commodity prices. However, downside risks linked to climate shocks, security risks, and food and fuel price pressures could lower medium-term gross domestic product (GDP) growth to 4.5%.”Renewable energy benefitsBuechler told Freight News that DSV was reaping substantial benefits from Mozambique's burgeoning renewable energy and oil and gas sectors' growth.“In terms of renewable energy, we have just finished with the Cuamba 18 MW Hybrid Solar Power Plant project for Globeleq, a leading independent power producer. The project has run for more than 18 months,” he said.DSV has a long-standing relationship with Sasol and the Temane Thermal Power Station, a major $2-billion, 450-megawatt (600 000 hp) natural gas power plant being developed by a consortium comprising Globeleq and eleQtra (UK), the Mozambique government-owned electric utility company Electricidade de Mocambique (EDM), and Sasol (SA). The project consists of the 450MW Central Termica de Temane (CTT) power plant and the associated 563-kilometre-long Temane transmission project (TTP). “Sasol has started a new drilling campaign which will support the construction of a gas power plant which is under construction right now, and the extension of the LG plant they have on site. So, it’s a completely new liquefied gas plant they are building, and it keeps us busy with a lot of out-of-gauge shipments, breakbulk shipments, emergency cargo and so on,” said Buechler. Pemba activityDSV has also been kept busy at Pemba, a port town and the capital of Cabo Delgado province on the northeastern coast, through the global energy company Eni’s Coral South offshore gas field project. The Coral field feeds the Coral Sul FLNG ship which has an estimated reserve of about 500 billion cubic metres of natural gas. Together, the Coral, Mamba and Agulha reserve contains an estimated 2.4 trillion cubic metres of gas. The gas, distributed as LNG, is expected to be a significant contributor to Mozambique’s development.Looking ahead, Buechler said there was the renewable sector project, a windmill park, to look forward to. There is also a move towards restoring operations at the Afungi site in the north of the Cabo Delgado province. Asked about the Total project in the north of the country where the company withdrew all LNG project personnel from the Afungi site in 2021 when it declared a force majeure, Buechler said things were looking up.“There is an intention to lift the force majeure this year and it looks like we will have a restart of the project mid next year. Obviously, a lot needs to happen and the consortium needs to go out into the market and reprice the entire logistics “monster” which has more bottlenecks than ever before. And we have another rainy season coming now so it’s going to get worse,” he said.But Buechler points out there is pressure to get the project back on track because it’s important for the country’s economy.Total project“There are four or five logistics companies with the right capacity to work, and a challenge is new players who pop up with ridiculous prices and little capacity or knowledge. But the ones who have survived the last ten years will get a fair piece of the pie. And if the Total project comes off next year, there will be work for everybody.”Aside from oil and gas, there is the Cahora Bassa North hydropower project planned for the Zambezi River/basin in Tete. This greenfield project is expected to commence in 2025.In the fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) sector DSV has signed with a global beverage company to provide a cross-dock solution of 12 000 sqm. And Buechler is hopeful that the Zimbabwe-Mozambique corridor will see activity accelerate, particularly since the elections in Zimbabwe have been held.Buechler said he remained optimistic about Mozambique’s future and was comfortable with DSV’s spread across different sectors, specifically oil and gas, renewables, and project cargo.
