Intermodal terminal opens in Nacala

Prospects are looking
attractive for the northern
Mozambique Port of Nacala’s
container traffic, according
to Kees Anton Van Welie,
chief executive of Grindrod
Intermodal.
To cope with this expected
growth, the company has
acquired a 40‹000-sqm,
3‹000-container-capacity
intermodal terminal close
to the port. This, he told
FTW, provided a base from
which it can develop further
intermodal offerings over
the course of 2017, including
warehousing and an
integrated cross-docking and
freight-packing station.
Despite Nacala being one
of the most attractive deep
water ports on the East
African coast, growth in
container volumes has lagged
behind due to an historical
lack of connectivity to the
hinterland.
“But with the rail
connections having
been built on the back of
coal investments, this is
changing. Nacala has the
opportunity to develop as a
freight corridor to Malawi,
Zambia and the eastern
Congo – allowing the port to
compete with Beira, Dar es
Salaam, and even Durban,
for cargoes to and from these
markets.
An immediate
opportunity he saw was for
the intermodal terminal to
containerise bulk cargoes
of minerals from the
hinterland, which are then
transported to the port for
export.
On the import side,
Van Welie pointed out
the shippers’ preference
for containers to be
unpacked at the port then
transported in bulk to
their destinations inland.
This to avoid the costly and
time-consuming exercise
of repatriating containers
from inland locations back
to port.
Another potential cargo
generator is the extensive
banana plantations that have
been developed in the region,
with produce needing to be
exported through Nacala.
“The start of this has been
delayed by panama disease,”
said Van Welie. “But the
crops have been replanted
so we should see significant
volumes of reefer containers
moving through this port in
the next years.”
Added to that is the
likely opening of a graphite
mine situated inland
of Nacala. “That mine’s
graphite shipments will
be transported as bulk to
the port where they will be
containerised for export,
offering opportunities for
intermodal operators like
Grindrod.
“We believe in building
and sustaining long-term
partnerships with our
customers as we unlock new
markets together,” said Van
Welie, “this newest terminal
in Nacala being testament
to this.”
The Port of Nacala ... good growth prospects.