“We will have the deepest port in this area, with a depth of 16.5 meters [draft – the depth to which a ship is submerged]. This will enable Maputo to truly become a very important port for Mozambique and its neighboring countries,” said DP World CEO, Ahmed bin Sulayem, shareholder of the Maputo Port Development Company (MPDC), following a meeting with Mozambique’s President, Daniel Chapo, in Maputo.
The MPDC is a private Mozambican corporation formed through a partnership between the state-owned Ports and Railways of Mozambique (CFM) and Portus Indico, a DP World affiliate. The executive director explained that in addition to expanding the infrastructure, there is also an intention to enhance Mozambique’s international trade links.
“We updated our vision on how to connect Maputo to most of the world. We believe Mozambique’s economic fundamentals are very strong, and the President confirmed this to us,” he said after the meeting in Maputo.
According to Sulayem, a designated group is already evaluating how to “expand and use Mozambique’s logistical capacity,” noting the country’s geographic location as a competitive advantage for global trade.
“We believe it’s an incredible opportunity. It has a good location and is logistically very close to major surrounding markets. What we need to do is invest,” he stated.
The ongoing expansion of the Maputo port container terminal will extend the quay to 650 meters and allow for the accommodation of ships up to 366 meters long.
The Mozambican President stated on Friday that the current growth of road transport of coal and magnetite to the Matola terminal at the port of Maputo is unacceptable and called for measures to redirect these goods back to the railway.
“The Matola Coal Terminal, by vocation and genesis, is a railway infrastructure. It was designed and conceived to receive cargo from the railway. It is, hence, unacceptable that we are now witnessing a growth in road transport of coal and magnetite – two products that have always used the railway as their natural means of transport,” said the head of state during a visit to the location on the outskirts of Maputo.
The Maputo port concession to MPDC will remain in effect until April 13, 2058, under the terms of the contract amendment approved by decree of the Mozambican government published last April. The concessionaire plans to invest $600 million (€571 million) in the first three years in port infrastructure expansion.
