Beira container facility adds capacity

Major earthworks

are transforming

the Transcom

Sharaf site in

Beira into an all-weather

facility designed to add value

to the warehousing and storage

services being offered.

All the internal roads have

been resurfaced, and the f loor

of the container yard is being

strengthened through the

installation of a composite

three-dimensional honeycomb

structure at the base.

A 2 000-sqm drive-in shed

loading facility will provide allweather

cover for the transfer

and loading of goods, according

to Guy Harvey, Group CEO at

Transcom Sharaf.

Once finished an additional

15 000 sqm of surfaced yard

will be able to hold a thousand

FEUs.

The capacity of the facility

will continue to be increased

and has further potential to

continue to grow to meet the

needs of clients, he says.

Volumes through the

Transcom Sharaf site continue

to grow despite increased

competition in the region

and a global slowdown in

international trade

“We need the extra capacity

thanks to our servicedriven

relationship with our

customers,” he says.

Construction is expected to be

completed by January 2016.

It is being managed so as to

minimise disruption to the dayto-

day operation of the facility,

which was one of the first

container facilities outside of

the port of Beira.

Transcom Sharaf was one

of the first to develop Beira

Port as an export gateway for

agricultural products from

Malawi and Zambia.

The company started

operating in Beira 11 years ago

while working with tobacco

exporters in Malawi. It looked

at the distance from Lilongwe

to Durban – which is around

2 400 kilometres compared

to the 940 to Beira – and that

indicated the future for exports

and imports for the region.

Even before the dredging of

the channel and port, it made

economic and logistics sense to

use Beira, he says.

Since then the company has

expanded its portfolio and

now handles the full range of

agricultural and mineral cargo

passing through the port of

Beira.

Its footprint has also

expanded beyond Malawi to

include Zambia, Zimbabwe,

South Africa and the

Democratic Republic of Congo.

“Our focus is on being the

best. We learn from best

practices around the world and

apply what is relevant to our

Beira operation,” he says.

CAPTION

Earlier this year Sabu Joseph joined Transcom Sharaf in Beira as

general manager for Mozambique. He has been with the group for

many years and was most recently in the Durban offices. He brings to

the position several years of shipping and service-related experience.