The Port of Maputo has its sights set on expansion.According to Neusa Monjane Saranga, commercial director for the Maputo Port Development Company (MPDC), they are currently on the verge of closing negotiations with CFM railway for a parcel of land, adjacent to the port's fence, which will give the port much-needed space.“As a city port we have been heavily constricted in our expansion plans, but as volumes have grown it has become imperative that we find a solution,” said Saranga.She added that negotiations with CFM over an 18 000-square-metre parcel of land were progressing well and there were high hopes that they would conclude soon and move the process forward.MPDC is further negotiating with a third-party company for the use of their land for the storage of cargo destined for the port. “This land will be used for a back-of-port operation that will allow us to meet the growing demand in the port.” Negotiations about the feasibility of this project are under way to ensure that this solution will be feasible for both the port and its customers.The Port of Maputo has been on an investment drive for several years and is continuing to go from strength to strength. Before the outbreak of Covid -19, it was handling 21 million tonnes of cargo across all sectors, a 10% increase over the previous year.“ We have continued to see year-on-year growth at the port as investments into our infrastructure have continued. The improved capacity has led to steady growth in volumes,” said Saranga.This, however, led to a higher demand for space. The area earmarked for a back-of-port operation, containing approximately 12 hectares, is ideally situated only seven kilometres away, with easy access to and from the port. “The project is our focus at present, and we are working heavily on this. Once the land is secured, we will be analysing the logistics requirements as well as assessing the necessary road interlinks to the port.”According to Saranga, for a port constrained by a city, back-of-the-port operations are crucial. “It is all about efficiencies and innovation. Improving our operational efficiency remains a top priority at the port and we are, due to our geographical location, having to be more innovative in finding solutions.”Saranga said 2022 had been a good year for the port so far, with interest spiking. “The pressure on other ports in the region has benefited us to a certain extent, and we are seeing increased demand even from non-traditional customers. The back-of-port operation is a very important development as it will give the port the much-needed breathing space that would allow us to serve the increasing demand.”Saranga said investment at the port was ongoing. “We have refurbished four berths and our equipment has been upgraded. Two more mobile cranes are expected in May next year. This will allow us to operate more berths with harbour cranes.“Apart from the traditional commodities handled at the port, the diversification strategy has been paying off, and we have added new products into our portfolio such as vanadium and vermiculite. We have also seen the return of the rock phosphate volumes into the port. Additionally, an exciting development this year has been the return of citrus exports through Maputo. Since the beginning of the second quarter this year we handled about 2 014 citrus containers, and we intend to grow that going forward,” said Saranga. “There has also been interest from the macadamia industry. The potential to grow our exports is there and the interest in the Port of Maputo is growing.”
