Grindrod to lead $1.7-bn expansion of Mozambique ports

Shipping giant Grindrod has committed another $1.7 billion to the Maputo Port Development Corporation (MPDC), to be spent over the next seven years on the expansion of the Maputo port and the Matola Coal Terminal in Mozambique, Grindrod CEO and chairman of the MPDC Dave Rennie told FTW. It’s a move that is expected to benefit South African mining companies. The plan is to triple the capacity of the Maputo and Matola ports to 50m tpy by 2020 from the current 15m, Rennie said. “MPDC’s aim of reaching 50 million tons handled by 2020 is a profound commitment to making this port more competitive,” he said. “ Rennie said the port expansion started 10 years ago when the MPDC, in which Grindrod has a 24.7% shareholding, received a 30-year concession to operate the port. “Almost $400 million has been invested to date, and we have seen commodities handled through the port increase from around 3 million tpy to 15 million tpy,” he said. He explained that the $1.7 billion investment would include an $800 million investment in the coal terminal to boost capacity there to 7m tpy from the current 6m tpy, increasing to 30m tpy by 2020. Also included in the investment is $9.7m in the Grindrod car terminal, which will ramp up the capacity to up to 150 000 units, Rennie said. Mining companies in South Africa will reap the benefits of the increased capacity. Coal producers Exxaro and Coal of Africa (CoAL) are two big users of the Matola Coal Terminal amid limited capacity allocations at the congested South African Richards Bay Coal Terminal. “CoAL currently has a 3m-tpy allocation at Matola port, and an increase in capacity will be beneficial to cater for the potential increase in tonnages from the Limpopo coking projects,” a spokeswoman from CoAL told FTW. CoAL is in the process of building the Makhado coking coal mine in the Limpopo, set for start-up in 2014. The company also ships coking and thermal coal from its Vele mine. Exxaro did not respond to calls for comment at the time of publishing Grindrod’s Rennie pointed out that the development plans were dependent on equal commitment from the different rail operators, including the Mozambican National Railways CFM, Transnet, Swazi Rail and the National Railways of Zimbabwe. Transnet is spending R300 billion over the next seven years to expand and update the rail network and port links across the country, as well as across the borders. Part of the spend includes the rail links from the Limpopo to the Mozambican ports, as well as expansion of the Richards Bay Coal Terminal to accommodate more tonnages for export. CAPTION Dave Rennie ... ‘The plan is to triple the capacity of the Maputo and Matola ports.’