Botswana to gain sea access through Mozambique ports

A memorandum of understanding (MoU) signed with Mozambique last week will facilitate access to the Indian Ocean as Botswana eyes the Beira, Matola and future Techobanine (Matatuine) ports for her exports, such as coal, to the lucrative Asian markets, according to a report in Mmegi Online. Botswana Minister of Trade and Industry, Dorcus Makgato-Malesu, said: "Mozambique has access to the sea, they can offer us this access and we can offer them minerals." Botswana has embarked on a robust plan to exploit her 212-billion tonnes of coal resources with a larger portion of it earmarked for export to the Asian markets through the eastern route passing through Zimbabwe and Mozambique. Feasibility studies for the expansion of the existing port and rail infrastructure are currently underway, with preliminary estimates suggesting that Botswana can export about 2-mt now and up to 60-mt of coal when the infrastructure has been upgraded.