With the Port of Maputo planning to double in size, and hence in capacity, minerals exporters will have a cross-border alternative to the ports of Durban and Richards Bay.This, after Mozambique’s Council of Ministers (Cabinet) gave the project the go-ahead and agreed to lease an additional 138 hectares to the Maputo Port Development Company (MPDC).This means that the MPDC concession will increase by 99%, from 140 to 278 hectares.It follows a record year for the port, which in 2021 handled 22.2 million tons of cargo. The previous record had been set in 2019 (before the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic), when it handled 21 million tons.The expansion plans are included in the Port of Maputo’s new masterplan, which will be presented to the public in May during the Maputo Port’s conference.In response, Grindrod, which is the lead partner in the MPDC, has released a statement saying that the capacity of the Matola Drybulk Terminals (GML) will be increased by 200% from 1.5 million tons a year to 4.5 million in the first half of 2022. The capacity of Grindrod’s Terminal de Carvão da Matola (TCM) will be increased from 7.3 million tons a year to 12 million tons “in the short to medium term, and to 20 million tonnes per annum in the long run. This will enhance South Africa’s miner exports on a year-on-year performance basis, increase volume exports by existing port users and promote port access to new users.” According to the statement, the expansion of GML’s capacity is under way and the feasibility study for the planned expansion project at TCM has already been completed. Critical to both projects is unlocking road and rail bottlenecks along the corridor.“Investment in channel dredging, paired with the rehabilitation and deepening of TCM’s berth to -15.4 metres, has equipped the port to accommodate bigger vessels and become more competitive in the region,” said Xolani Mbambo, CEO of Grindrod Freight Services.Grindrod is bullish about the demand for coal export capacity, which it says is being driven by high international prices.
