In January, global port operator Dubai Ports World invested more than US$32- million in the Maputo Port Development Company (MPDC) when it purchased 48.5% of Portus Indico – Sociedade de Servicos Portuarios, joining Grindrod International Ltd, which holds another 48.5%. Mozambique Gestores SARL holds the remaining 3% in partnership with CFM who holds 33% of the MPDC shares. DP World also holds the concession to operate the container terminal at the port and is a 60% shareholder in Maputo International Port Services (MIPS), with the Mozambique Ports and Railways Company CFM holding the remaining 40%. Investment in the Port of Maputo by the port concessionaire has totalled more than US$50-million of an earmarked $70-million. CFM, the Mozambican Ports and Railways Company, has invested some US$20-million in the rehabilitation and upgrading of the railway line between Ressano Garcia and Maputo. Some US$60-million has been targeted for investment in rehabilitation of around 50 locomotives and 750 wagons. These improvements, along with the close partnership between CFM and Transnet Freight Rail, have seen a significant increase in all types of rail cargo moving across the borders. Some 1.7-million tons of transit cargo moved from South Africa to Maputo during 2007, with a targeted increase to 9-million tons by 2009. The concessionaire on the N4 toll road, Trans Africa Concessions, has spent R3-billion on the rehabilitation and upgrading of the road from Gauteng to Maputo, with at least another R3-billion to be spent on the road over the balance of the 30-year concession. This road has drastically reduced travelling time between the two countries and TRAC has indicated that traffic volumes have increased by between 5% and 7% per annum, with truck traffic increasing by 10% per annum on this road. Figures were supplied by Brenda Horne, chief executive officer of the Maputo Corridor Logistics Initiative.
