Bridge to invest in Beira warehouse

Plans by the Bridge Shipping Group to acquire a warehouse facility adjacent to the Port of Beira in Mozambique will offer customers a choice between the ports of Durban and Beira. “By carefully analysing seasonal price adjustments in terms of port fees, customers will be able to plan their deliveries around the most effective port option, thus saving them money without incurring delivery delays,” CEO Colin Emanuel said when he announced the development last week. Situated 300 metres from the port gates, the warehouse will provide a fully fledged bouquet of offerings to the market, deploying a fleet of 2.5- ton forklifts with clamp machines, supported by a well-trained complement of employees, he added. “We have been a port user in Beira for the past 20 years and we have always had a representative office there,” said Emanuel. “In the past, the draught at the port entrance was too shallow to effectively move large volumes in or out of the port thus not justifying the type of investment required. When the harbour was dredged to a depth of 11 metres some 18 months ago, it resulted in increased efficiencies and volume throughput at the port. We therefore took the decision to source a suitable tract of land to develop a comprehensive facility in Beira.” The construction of the 7 200 sqm warehouse, together with a 9 000 sqm yard and 250 sqm office will provide Bridge with a solid presence in Mozambique, he said. “We will leverage our facility in Beira to maintain and increase our presence in Mozambique, Malawi, Zambia and Zimbabwe.”