Port conference will focus on Coega and Maputo

THE DEVELOPMENTS of both the proposed Coega harbour and the Maputo Corridor, which is now well underway, will be featured prominently at the fifth International Conference on Coastal and Port Engineering in Developing Countries (Copedec) to be held in Cape Town from
April 19-23.
The fifth annual event in this series is being held in South Africa for the first time, with previous gatherings in Sri Lanka, China, Kenya and Brazil.
The conference provides an international forum for engineers from developing countries to exchange views and experiences, with the overall theme to be 'Sustainability in Coastal and Port Engineering.'
Practical applications and environmental aspects will be considered along with case studies which are to be presented. Subjects covered will include all aspects of ports and structures, from site selection to planning, construction and maintenance.
Coming at a time when South Africa is in the process of formulating a White Paper on coastal policy, the choice of Cape Town as the venue is being regarded as particularly significant.
The local host and chief sponsor is CSIR while the main bilateral co-sponsor is the Ministry of the Flemish Community of Belgium, to
be represented by Flanders Hydraulics.