Maputo dredged to handle more cross-border traffic

The process of selecting
the company to dredge
the Maputo Port access
channel is under way.
The dredging of the channel
from its current -11 metre vessel
draught to allow for sailing vessels
with draughts of up to 14.2 metres
is expected to begin in the third
quarter of 2015 after a contractor
has been appointed, according
to the chief executive officer of
MPDC, Osório Lucas.
The dredging project aims to
give bigger ships of up to 80 000
dead weight tons access through
the channel, making the Port
of Maputo more competitive
in regional and international
markets.
“Dredging the access channel
to the port is a strategic decision
that will not only allow the Port
of Maputo to achieve its goal of
handling 40 million tons by 2020,
but will have a multiplying effect
on the Mozambican economy,”
said Lucas.
“We are confident that this
investment will attract more
cargo, thus creating more jobs,
developing more small to medium
enterprises whose business is
associated with the port, and
increase our contribution to
Mozambique’s GDP,” he said.
This is the second dredging of
the port’s access channel.
In 2010/2011 it was dredged
from -9.4 metres (the designed
depth for the channel) to -11
metres, which contributed to the
increase in cargo volumes handled
– from 12 million tons in 2011 to
more than 19 million tons in 2014.
The last two years of major
investment follow the Port’s
2010 masterplan with several
expansion, rehabilitation projects
and equipment acquisitions
for landside and marine side
operations.
These developments and the
new dredging will allow the port
to handle growing demand and
to achieve cargo throughput of 40
million tons in the next five years,
according to Lucas.