The central Mozambican port of Beira has more than tripled its capacity to handle containers, following the inauguration of five new access lanes to the container terminal by Deputy Transport Minister Manuela Rebelo on Tuesday 12 December 2017.The increased facility of movement to and from the terminal, and a three hectare increase in the size of the terminal will allow it to handle 700,000 containers a year, up from the current figure of 200,000.
Dutch company Cornelder, which manages the Port of Beira, invested US$6.2 million in the new access lanes, which are intended to increase the competitiveness of the port, and its capacity to attract traffic from other countries of the SADC (Southern African Development Community) region, such as Zimbabwe, Zambia, Malawi and Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).
Deputy Transport Minister Manuela Rebelo inaugurates the five new access lanes to the container terminal.
Rebelo said it had always been the government’s dream to make Beira a competitive port, and to ensure a continual increase in traffic through the gateway. She urged Cornelder to continue its investments in order to reduce cargo handling times, and to practice “competitive tariffs”.
Corndelder’s Managing Director, Jan de Vries, said the new access infrastructure will increase the terminal’s capacity to receive containers, particularly at peak periods. Previously just one access road led into the container terminal, with a single lane in each direction, which caused congestion.
The inauguration of the new roads in the port, said de Vries, coincides with work to deepen the port’s access channel. This dredging began in November and will continue until April 2018. The deeper access channel will allow ships of up to 60,000 tonnes to dock at Beira at any time of day or night.
Source: AIM/Club of Mozambique