Mozambique’s busiest
container port is
gearing up to handle
500000 TEU a year
“within the next five years,” says
Felix Machado, marketing and sales
manager for the port of Beira.
In 2013 the port is projecting
volumes of 200000 TEU thanks
to the addition of two new post-
Panamax gantries that have seen
productivity climb from 12 moves
an hour to 24 moves per ship hour,
he says.
Productivity is increasing steadily
as the operators become more
proficient on the new ship to shore
gantries, he adds.
The container terminal storage
capacity has been nearly doubled
from 6400 to 11200 slots,
including 144 reefer points and a
dedicated International Maritime
Dangerous Goods (IMDG) storage
area.
Work is also due to start on a
new 600-metre-long dock that will
be used for both containers and
general cargo.
Carlos Mesquita, the chief
executive officer of the port’s
management company, Cornelder
de Moçambique, has announced
that the contractor has been
identified and that work should be
completed by the end of 2014.
The terminal will have a draft of
13 metres, according to Machado.
Dredging has taken the existing
quay down to 12 metres at high
tide.
The movement of containers
through the terminal is being sped
up by the opening of another gate,
which will create separate entrance
and exit points.
Machado says Cornelder is
also working on speeding up the
movement of bulk cargo.
Dedicated terminals are on the
drawing board for sugar, fertilizer,
minerals, coal, vehicles, sulphur,
wood chips and biofuel.
“We also want to double our
copper exports,” he says.
Cornelder’s approach is to
“provide the right conditions” for
the growth of cargo by responding
to the needs of the industry.
Free container storage is offered
for 17 days before the arrival of
vessels on exports, and 12 days
after offloading on imported
goods.
“This gives cargo owners
adequate time to clear their goods
– providing their paperwork is in
order. They should not have to pay
demurrage if their clearing agents
are doing their job,” he says.
According to Machado, the
demurrage fees have been increased
in order to ensure that containers
are moved quickly. “The port
focuses on throughput, not storage”.
It is also using fees to help
shipping companies balance the
import and export volumes.
Rates for handling fertilizer
imports have, for example, been
increased, while those for tobacco
exports have been reduced. “We
are also offering attractive rates
for mineral and agricultural
exports from Zimbabwe and the
Copperbelt.” At the same time, the
port has increased the rates for
timber in order to reduce pressure
on the remaining forests, he says.
Upgrades to Beira Grain
Terminal
The Beira Grain Terminal (BGT)
is being upgraded in two phases.
Phase 1, which includes the
building of six silos with a storage
capacity of 30000 tons of grain,
wheat and maize, has been
completed. Another 30000 tons
of storage capacity in six more
silos will be added when there is
sufficient demand, according to
Machado.
He says the investment in the
grain terminal will lower the cost
of grain imported and exported
from the region through the use of
bulk handling and storage. Bulk
terminals for fertilizer (30000
ton storage capacity) and a sugar
terminal are “in varying stages of
negotiation with the landlord of the
port CFM and potential partners,”
according to port operators
Cornelder de Moçambique.
Cornelder celebrates 15 years
at the helm of Beira Port
Operations in the port of Beira
have been managed as a private
joint venture between Moçambique
Ports and Railways (CFM) and
Rotterdam-based Cornelder
Holdings since October 1998.The
Cornelder de Moçambique (CdM)
public private partnership has
operated the Container and General
Cargo Terminals in the Port of
Beira since October 1998.
Secure port
Recent upgrades have positioned
the Port of Beira as one of the
region’s leading ports in safety and
security. The terminals are fully
secured with electric fencing, with
CCTV security camera surveillance
of all key points. Entrance of
personnel, visitors and cargo is
managed by a private security
company. There is a dedicated
gate for each terminal. CdM is
compliant with the ISPS code.
CAPTION
Port of Beira
