New intermodal container depot to free up Maputo terminal

The efficiency of the Container Terminal in Maputo is due to be improved with the opening of a 70 000 sqm intermodal container depot facility that will be built at the northern entrance to the port. Frans Visser, CEO Maputo International Container Depot (MICD), says the new depot will be able to handle 66 000 TEUs of full and empty containers a year. We have provided 10 000 sqm of concrete slab for packing of bulk minerals as well as an 8 000-sqm warehouse for handling of general cargo such as sugar, rice, paper and stainless steel. Additional services offered by the MICD will include container inspections, cleaning and repairs and reefer containers, pre-trip inspection and storage. Sharing the DP World Maputo Terminal Operating System, MICD will be fully integrated into the terminal operations. In effect the MICD will be used as an extended stacking area for DP World Maputo terminal. The MICD is already operating, using 15 000 sqm of land leased from the port authority (MPDC). “We are testing our systems ahead of the first phase to ensure seamless transition when starting up the new facility. “The objective is to free up valuable space in the container terminal in order to improve the container handling productivity. “For cargo owners, the advantages are reduced truck standing time at the container terminal gates; improved truck turnaround times; professional and cost-effective warehousing and packing/unpacking services within the port precinct,” he says. “For shipping lines, the advantages are improved terminal operations, resulting in shorter ship turnaround time and cost-effective empty container handling, storage and repairs. “But, whatever the service, the aim is to keep the containers continuously flowing”, says Visser