A planned dredging programme is integral to the future success of the Mozambican port of Beira to push it into the direct call league. This modest African box handling facility - in comparison with Richards Bay - lies 20km from the open sea.
The port is approached via the Macúti channel, which currently limits access to vessels drawing no more than 9.2m of water.However,the aim is to deepen the draught to around 12m, which would mean that Beira would no longer be limited to feeder port status.
Sales and marketing manager Félix Machado believes that there is real scope for Beira to act as a major conduit for the surrounding countries of Malawi, Zimbabwe, Zambia and the Congo, which currently prefer to use Durban, because of its access to direct calls. "Durban is both more expensive than Beira and also much further away from these countries. We are their natural harbour,"he insists.
In 2006, box throughput amounted to 54,268 teu, which was 1% down on the previous year, due to the fact that the local tobacco harvest had been delayed by up to two months.
Expectations had been for a hike of 5%. Capacity is in the region of 100,000 teu, so this is not an obstacle. As for what 2007 will bring, Mr Machado says all depends on how optimistic shipping lines feel about the projected dredging project."If we don't start that dredging programme on time, there could be negative consequences for traffic," he warns.
Hinterland road and rail connections to neighbouring Zimbabwe remain good,while the road to Malawi is also in good condition, although it will not be until 2008-09 that the rail link is fully restored.In terms of feeder connections, services call at Maputo and Durban, while going northwards, Nacala, Dar es Salaam and Mobasa are all served.
"In theory, we have two main competitors: Durban and Nacala. However,while we view the former as a major threat, we believe the latter should be considered as a partner port. I say this because neither Beira nor Nacala on its own could accommodate all cargo moving to and from Malawi," says Mr Machado.
In terms of productivity, he concedes that the 14-15 moves per crane hour currently being achieved by the container terminal's two quayside gantry cranes is not good enough.The short term aim is to boost this to at least 20 moves, rising to 25 moves in the longer term.Nevertheless,there are extenuating circumstances in that Beira is often forced to slot in containers of a similar weight whenever a box exchange is undertaken. This is highly time consuming and slows handling times.
"We may eventually have to acquire additional gantry cranes, too"he says. General cargo volumes are showing healthy signs of growth, up 35% last year to 1.24m tonnes. Mr Machado explains that, while Zimbabwe generates approximately 38% of this, Mozambique itself is responsible for 35%, a sure indication that the local economy is growing.
"We recognise that we need to invest in new facilities, such as covered warehouses, where we are somewhat limited at the moment. However, first we need to see the dredging programme fully implemented."