Maputo Port ready for more volumes

Close to 90% of the cargo f lowing through the ports of Maputo and Matola is committed through multi-year contracts. “This shows that users are confident that the port can deliver on its commitments,” says Johann Botha, commercial director of the Maputo Port Development Company (MPDC). He expects demand to grow as the port is reconfigured in order to improve efficiencies. Terminals and storage areas are being grouped in order to minimise handling and to optimise the use of equipment. New equipment, including two mobile harbour cranes, will improve productivity. Bulk handling capacity will be increased to a thousand tons an hour, according to Botha. In terms of the port master plan the capacity for Maputo will be increased from 13 to 20 million tons a year up to 2020. Capacity for Matola will also go up to 20 million tons from the current 7.5 million. Over the next year US$355m will be invested in projects such as maintenance dredging of the berths to bring them back to their design depth, and the channel will be dredged to 14 metres. It will also be reconfigured in order to cater for the longer vessels that are calling on the port. Once completed the channel will be able to accommodate 280 metre-long, 80 000-dwt vessels. One refurbished tugboat which was previously stationed in East London has also been acquired. Access to the port will be improved through the building of a northern boundary road and a new rail terminal for the handling of containers. “We need rail volumes to grow for the port to grow,” says Botha. MPDC is working with the national rail company CFM, as well as Transnet Freight Rail in order to increase rail capacity out of the Mpumalanga and Limpopo provinces. TFR has committed to providing dedicated equipment for the route. Recently TFR allocated four 40 wagon train sets as a weekly service between Steelpoort in the Limpopo province and the ports of Maputo for the transport of bulk chrome. CFM has stationed its drivers and locomotives at the Komatipoort border in order to speed up the hand-over of the wagons and improve productivity. A further US$328 is budgeted for upgrades between 2016 and 2020. This will include expansion of the Matola terminal, the building of the internal rail shunting yard and the rehabilitation of berths 6, 7 and 8 to create two deep-water berths with a draft of 14 metres. The current Port Master Plan includes additional investment plans of US$2bn by MPDC and its sub concessionaires to 2033. INSERT & CAPTION Terminals and storage areas are being grouped in order to minimise handling and to optimise the use of equipment. – Johann Botha CAPTION The Port of Maputo... growing confidence from users.