Additional weighbridge reduces congestion at Maputo Port

The Maputo Port Development Corporation has put its money where its mouth is to address truck congestion along the N4 and at Maputo Port’s Gate Number 1. Currently an average of 900 trucks a day are registered through this gate. The installation of another weighbridge at gate 1 in the last quarter of 2012 contributed to the reduction of congestion at the gate because the trucks entering the port no longer share the weighbridge with trucks exiting the harbour, said communications officer Soraia Abdula. In another measure taken to reduce congestion, the MPDC has awarded a tender for widening the road systems used by trucks to access the port. The existing two lanes will be replaced by four – two entering the port, and two exiting. Booths similar to toll gates will be introduced to improve the process for handling the documentation at the gate, and thus reduce the waiting time in both directions, she says. In addition, the main road from Gate 1 servicing the port will be fully rehabilitated to enable a more efficient traffic flow. The contractor is currently on site. The project is scheduled to be completed in six months at an approximate total cost of US$2 million, she says. INSERT ‘MPDC has awarded a tender for widening the road systems used by trucks to access the port.’