The MPDC, in a statement signed by its Chief Executive Osório Lucas, also said the dredging – to increase its depth from 11m to 14m – would allow access to port facilities by vessels of up to 80,000 tons, making the port of Maputo one of the most competitive in regional and international markets.
“Dredging the access channel to the port is a strategic decision that will not only help achieve the target set to process 40 million tons of cargo by 2020, but which will have a multiplying effect on the Mozambican economy,” said the MPDC CEO cited in the statement.
This will be the second time the port’s access channel has been dredged, after in 2010-2011 it was dredged from 9.4m (the depth designed for the channel) to 11m, which contributed to the amount of cargo handled increasing from 12 million tons in 2011 to over 19 million in 2014.
The MPDC is a private company, resulting from a partnership between the Mozambican state port and rail company CFM, South African group Grindrod, DP World of the United Arab Emirates and Mozambique Gestores.
The Port of Maputo was granted under a concession by the government of Mozambique to MPDC in 2003 but gained new momentum in 2008 when Grindrod and DP World acquired most of the stake owned by Portus Índico, the largest shareholder (51%) and sponsor of the project.