The dredging of the access channel to the Port of Maputo from 11 m to 14.4 m (chart datum) has been completed.

“Those three additional metres allow us to affirm, with pride, that we are a port prepared to receive Capesize ships,” says Maputo Port Development Company (MPDC) CEO Osório Lucas.

“Until very recently, these same ships had to make double stops, one in our port and another in another port of the region, or even be diverted to neighbouring ports.”

He says the investment was made in order to transform the Port of Maputo from an alternative port “into a port of choice.”

Capesize ships are the largest dry cargo ships. They are too large to transit the Suez Canal or Panama Canal and have to pass either the Cape of Good Hope or Cape Horn to deliver their goods.

“As a result of the investments we are making, the Maputo port has gained a prominent place in the region, placing the hinterland closer to the main international sea routes, consolidating its complementary position to the South African ports of Durban and Richards Bay,” adds Mozambique Transport and Communications Minister Carlos Mesquita.

He emphasises that the investment made at the port had to be met with equal response from logistics operators, especially in the rail sector, using the port.

“It is imperative to find partnerships between the various players in the chain and efficient and competitive logistics solutions.”

The deepening and dredging of the Maputo port channel, awarded to international company Jan de Nul Dredging Middle East FZE, started in May and was completed in late December last year, almost three months before the deadline.

With three dredgers in operation, as well as a series of other equipment, the company removed around 14.5-million cubic metres of sediment and rock material from the channel.

The $84.1-million project was funded through loans from Banco Comercial e de Investimentos (BCI) and Standard Bank, as well as by using MPDC’s own funds.

Additional Services
The Maputo port recently started with the provision of bunkering services for all vessels, moored or at anchorage.

The supply of fuels and lubricants is being carried out under an agreement between MPDC and Petromoc Bunkering, and is part of a series of initiatives to improve the services offered to shipping lines by the port, making it more competitive in the regional and international markets.

Rehabilitation of quays 6, 7 and 8 – a project developed to provide deep-water berths – is currently under evaluation for execution this year.

MPDC is a public–private company owned by the Mozambican Ports and Railway Company (Caminhos de Ferro de Moçambique) and Portus Indico, comprising the JSE-listed Grindrod group, DP World and local company Mozambique Gestores.

MPDC received the concession to the Port of Maputo in 2003.

In 2008, Grindrod and DP World acquired the majority of the shares of Portus Indico.

The Mozambique government in 2010 approved the extension of the concession for another 15 years, to 2033.