Cornelder is investing in new equipment for the port of Beira, in addition to rebuilding the warehouses which were destroyed by Cyclone Idai. According to Jan de Vries, managing director of Cornelder de Moçambique, the warehouses have been redesigned and will be “built back better” in order to withstand cyclonestrength winds. “Although we were told it was a once in a lifetime storm, we do not know what impact global warming will have on the local climate,” he told FTW. Work on the warehouses is expected to be completed in January 2020. They will enable the port to unload and bag increased volumes of bulk fertiliser and chemicals. Cornelder, which has the concession to run the port of Beira, has also learned from the disaster and is implementing additional measures to ensure that the port can recover quickly. They include now having two offsite data back-ups that mirror the port’s IT systems. This is important because the port will be automating its general cargo management and tracking systems in order to speed up operations and to help shippers manage their cargo more effectively.
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The warehouses have been redesigned and will be “built back better”. – Jan de Vries
