Kevin Mayhew ZAMBIAN CARGO heading for a congested Durban by road or rail via Komatipoort can be redirected to Maputo to ease the burden on KwaZulu Natal’s facilities, says the new business development manager for Maputo International Port Services (MIPS), Jan Bekker. One of MIPS’ aims is to focus on convincing Zambian and other southern African countries’ freight companies about the advantages of Maputo as an outlet. “No container traffic from Zambia is presently routed through Maputo but we are getting more and more out of South Africa as they have seen our capacity. We just think that it is an oversight for Durban bound traffic that is passing through Komatipoort not to consider Maputo, given the well documented problems with the terminal in Durban,” says Bekker. The Maputo Terminal increased its full container loads by about 12% in the past year and is seeing month on month increases. It can easily double presently capacity. Bekker says they have maintained competitive rates, even with Durban dropping the $100 congestion surcharge. “We see ourselves as part of a region that needs to succeed and not as competition first and foremost. It is our intention to provide people with Maputo as a practical and economic alternative because it makes economic sense for every country such as Zambia to utilise our services,” Bekker concludes.
