Grindrod revs up car terminal expansion plans

09 Nov 2012 - by Ed Richardson

Grindrod has pushed the
“start” button on plans
to expand the Maputo
Car Terminal following a
repositioning of the facility,
according to Pieter Venter,
executive of Grindrod
Mozambique.
The Grindrod Maputo car
terminal covers 34 757 sqm
and came into operation in
November 2007.
Phase 1 has a capacity to park
about 1 455 cars, and an annual
throughput capacity of 52 000
cars.
This has already been
exceeded, with the terminal
making use of parking space on
the quayside to accommodate up
to 3 500 additional vehicles at a
time – depending on their size
and configuration.
Work has started on
expanding the capacity to an
effective five thousand bays in
order to “accommodate current
business and what we have in
the pipeline,” he says.
The car terminal, which
Grindrod operates in partnership
with Höegh Autoliners, was
initially intended to serve the
Gauteng market.
Following slow uptake
from Gauteng-based original
equipment manufacturers
(OEMs) and importers, the
operators “changed our business
model. Now our main focus is
on transhipment cargo and the
local Mozambican market,” he
says.
There is a steady flow of
“high and heavy” equipment for
the rapidly expanding mining
industry in Mozambique and
neighbouring countries, while
the two main shipping lines
using the port – Mitsui OSK
Lines (MOL) and Höegh – also
use it as a transhipment hub
for both new and used vehicles
bound for west and east Africa
and the Middle East.
Upgrades to the port allow
three ro-ro vessels or pure car
and truck carriers (PCTCs) to
call at a time, and there are
now up to 20 calls a month on
Maputo by car carriers and ro-ro
vessels, he says.
“We have huge capacity in
terms of vessels. So, if a line
asks whether we can handle
a shipment of 300 vehicles at
short notice, the answer is ‘yes
we can.’ We are very flexible,
and open to talking to anybody,”
he says.
The terminal handles the
loading and unloading itself
using its own team of drivers
which it has trained. “Their
training is part of our social
programme. We have helped
the drivers develop their skills
set beyond that needed in the
terminal,” he says.
Many work as drivers in
Maputo when not loading
vessels.
Maputo is expected to handle
52 000 vehicles in 2012 –
having started at three thousand
in the first year of operation.
Having taken the risk to
build the terminal, Grindrod
was under a lot of pressure
to convert the space to bulk
storage, but the company’s
decision to retain the terminal
and look to new markets has
paid off.
Gauteng-destined
transhipments now make up
only a small percentage of the
volumes, despite the advantages
Maputo offers for Gautengbased
vehicle importers and
exporters, says Venter.