New manager spearheads drive for transit cargo
MAPUTO CONTAINER terminal is on a growth curve.
It handled 39 486 TEUS last year, a 13% increase over 2002, representing 40% of the terminal’s total capacity.
“The rise in imports and 17% growth in exports of full containers not only reflects the country’s buoyant economy, but also the increase in transit cargo, especially sugar from Swaziland and South Africa,” a spokesman for Mozambique International Port Services (MIPS) told FTW.
And growth in transit cargo is
MIPS’ primary objective.
Over the past eight years, some US$12.6 million (R88 m) has been invested in terminal upgrades which include gantry cranes, new mobile equipment, security, installation of an electric fence on the perimeter of the terminal and a computerised container control system.
A further US$ 5million (R35 m) has been committed for additional upgrades. This will include the acquisition of two 35 ton and one 10 ton crane and the paving of the empty storage yard, doubling present storage capacity to 1004 slots.
Adding impetus to its drive for more transit cargo, MIPS has brought on board new business development manager Jan Bekker who has vast experience the field.
Another positive development for the port has been the launch of the Maputo Corridor Logistics Initiative (MCLI). “More and more cargo owners and freight forwarders are showing positive interest in Maputo, and all the parties involved, both Mozambican and South African, have demonstrated their willingness to work together to improve border post procedures and control efficiencies to ensure that no revenue is lost to either country,” MCLI executive director Jorge Ferraz told FTW.
