With the port of
Maputo’s ambitious
plans to handle
40 million tons
of cargo by the end of 2020 –
projections by the Maputo Port
Development Company are that it
will reach 20 million tons by 2014
– how big a threat is it to Durban’s
status as a key import/export hub
for southern Africa?
Industry sources told FTW
it had always been a potential
threat – as is Walvis Bay to Cape
Town on the west coast – and they
believe the threat level has become
far more real, particularly with the
new infrastructure upgrade plans
for 2014. These include dredging
of the access channel to -14 metres
(from the current -11 metres),
which will allow access by larger
vessels, quayside strengthening,
warehouses and road upgrades.
The port has also invested in
upgrading the Grindrod Maputo
Car Terminal, with major car
manufacturers such as BMW
and Nissan switching some of
its import operations to the
Mozambican port.
“Infrastructure developments
around access to the port
of Maputo by neighbouring
countries, and from Gauteng, now
present a very real threat to the
ports of Durban and Richards
Bay,” said Paul Lawrence, chief
operations officer for Ziegler
South Africa. He noted that that
should the costs of import and
export via Maputo be equivalent
to, or less than, either Durban or
Richards Bay then business would
“definitely” be reduced in Durban.
“And with that, the opportunities
for growth and business
retention will be minimised,” said
Lawrence.
A logistics service provider who
wished to remain anonymous
questioned whether the relevant
authorities at the KwaZulu Natal
ports were taking this threat
seriously. “Service delivery levels
by Transnet Port Terminals
(TPT) and Transnet National
Ports Authority (TNPA) remain
questionable at the best of times at
Durban and Richards Bay ports,”
he said.
The Maputo port developments
are certainly a threat said
Miguel Vieira, Compu-
Clearing’s customer relations
representative in Durban, as
logistically both Maputo and
Durban are only six hours away
from Johannesburg. “Key players
in the industry are taking their
cargo through Mozambique
instead of Durban to save both
costs and time,” he said, adding
that Mozambique’s gross domestic
product (GDP) growth had
exceeded South Africa’s over the
past four years. “If not enough
is done to address the threat,
then we could see Durban slip
out of the top 50 busiest ports
worldwide,” said Vieira.
Easyclear GM Michael Henning
however believes that the new
projects to expand Durban’s port
will go some way in addressing
the issue of competition, “although
there are groups resistant to
change that indicate that the digout
port is a long way from even
getting off the ground."
CAPTION
The Grindrod Maputo Car Terminal... attracting major car manufaturers.
