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 make us a port prepared to receive Cape-size ships,” says MaputoPort Development Company (MPDC) CEO Osório Lucas.“Until very recently, these ships had to make double stops, one in our port and one in another port in the region, or even in neighbouring ports.”
Cape-size 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.
“Thus Maputoport 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 MozambiqueTransport and Communications Minister Carlos Mesquita.
The deepening and dredging of the Maputoport 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.The company removed around 14.5-million cubic metres of sediment and rock 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.Rehabilitation of quays 6, 7 and 8 – a project developed to provide deep-water berths – is currently under evaluation for execution this year.
