MPDC takes over cabotage terminal

Plans to establish a dedicated cabotage service to link the ports of Mozambique have been given a boost by the acquisition of the Mozambique Cabotage Terminal (TCM) by Portus Indico, the major shareholder of the Maputo Port Development Company (MPDC). Management and operation of the terminal – one of the oldest berths in the port – will fall under MPDC. The terminal will now be able to provide additional services such as storage of cars and handling of passenger vessels, as well as other addedvalue services through the “leveraging off and sharing of resources,” according to Johann Botha, MPDC commercial director. “We are looking at the service package we are able to offer and are also going to the market to see what is required,” he says. The terminal consists of 27 000-sqm of paved area, a 300m berth, 300m long and 5 000-sqm of warehousing in a number of separate buildings. It also has a f leet of containers. MPDC took control of the terminal in July 2014. Measures being considered to support cabotage services include the reduction of fees and upgrading of the marine infrastructure, he says.