‘Maputo is ideal complementary port for automotive industry’

The Grindrod Maputo Car Terminal has recorded significant growth over the past year, regional manager for Grindrod Terminals Mozambique, Pieter Venter, told FTW. “It’s the advantage of starting at zero base and developing year on year to maximum capacity,” he said. “We believe that the automotive sector in Mozambique will see huge growth over the next year,” he told FTW. With Phase 2 of the development of the car terminal in the pipeline, more direct calls from shipping lines, and the development of rail infrastructure, much is expected in the next few years of the port and the car terminal, he said. The car terminal spans an area of 34 757m² and began operating in November 2007. With an initial capacity to park about 1 455 cars and an annual throughput capacity of 52 000 cars (based on a six-day dwell time), the terminal offers an immediate solution to complement the South African car terminals which are operating under severe capacity constraints, says Venter. “Maputo is ideally situated to serve as a complementary port for the import and export of vehicles delivering to, or manufactured in Gauteng. “For Maputo, the automotive industry is a fairly new venture and the typical challenges faced are generating balanced cargo streams, ensuring competitive transportation tariffs, and developing rail infrastructure specific to the automotive sector,” says Venter. “The opportunities however are endless. There is still room and opportunity for OEMs to secure the footprint required and to participate in establishing purpose-built facilities.”