Maintenance dredging for Maputo

All the quays in the port of Maputo are to be returned to their design depth as part of a maintenance dredging programme that will start in October, according to Osório Lucas, chief executive officer of the Maputo Port The work will be carried out by Transnet National Ports Authority’s (TNPA) new Italeni grab hopper dredger, which has just been taken into service. The agreement to use Italeni, a 750-cbm grab hopper dredger, forms part of a memorandum of understanding signed with TNPA in June 2013, with both ports committing to strengthening relationships, according to Lucas. “The signing of the Italeni contract is evidence that the Port of Maputo and the ports of South Africa are not in competition, but are collaborating to realise regional economic integration as the world is pinning its hope on the African continent for economic growth,” says Lucas.