Beira port congestion to be resolved soon

Congestion at the port of Beira is expected to be resolved within three months, according to the CE of port management company Cornelder de Moçambique, Carlos Mesquita. Quoted by newspaper Notícias, Mesquita reported that the problem had deteriorated over the past 10 years as the amount of cargo “’ mainly coal and other bulk materials “’ had increased, and most of it was being carried by road, rather than by rail. One of the factors contributing to the imminent solution of the problem is the re-launch, after a 25-year standstill, of railway cargo transport directly from the port of Beira to Lusaka, in Zambia. Mesquita said that Mozambique’s ports had been designed for transporting cargo at a ratio of 75% by rail to 25% by road. But this fell away once the Beira Railway System, made up of the Machipanda and Sena lines, was leased out to the now-closed-down company, Companhia Caminhos de Ferro da Beira (CCFB). Due to the company’s inability to comply with its contractual obligations until recently the cargo that arrived at the port of Beira was carried at a ratio of 65%-70% by road and 35%-40% by rail.