Mini power station keeps port of Beira operating

A bank of powerful generators

has been installed to keep

all operations in the port of Beira

working at full capacity whenever

there is a power cut.

The US$4-million investment

in close to 10 MVA of generating

capacity follows a week-long

power cut in 2014, according to

Jan Laurens de Vries, commercial

manager for the port of Beira.

Power cuts caused by flooding

and equipment failure remain a risk

that the port operator Cornelder

de Mozambique (CdM) decided it

could not continue to live with, he

says.

Ironically, the power cut had more

impact than previously because of

the improvements in the port itself.

Investment in new gantries

means that some shipping lines no

longer call with geared vessels.

“We decided it was a necessity to

be able to assure shipping lines that

the port can operate indefinitely

completely independently of the

grid.

“It was important to win back the

trust of the lines and customers,” he

says.

The reliance on the grid was

identified as one of the “weak spots”

which are being systematically dealt

with, according to De Vries.

Over the longer term CdM is

evaluating the construction of

dedicated terminals to handle

sugar, sulphur, biofuels and a vehicle

terminal to handle cars, commercial

vehicles and large industrial and

agricultural equipment.

CAPTION

Power on tap – the bank of generators that can

power the whole port of Beira for weeks at a time.