Further investment at Maputo

The IPA is to receive $1.5 billion from international donors according to Mahmood Salih Abdul-Nabi, the incoming director general, who says that the authority is considering the possibility of perhaps eventually seeking a single management company to run both ports in a privatised environment, with AP Moller responding by saying that it would bid for such a contract.

Mozambique International Port Services Company (MIPS), which has already invested $12m in rehabilitating the port of Maputo since 1996, is to make a further investment of $1.5m to add extra equipment and upgrade facilities. Repairs to the 300 sq metre quay area are now complete, while new handling equipment has been provided for the container yard and warehousing complex. The aim is to make Maputo the transit hub for South Africa, Swaziland and Zimbabwe. Port concessionaire, the Maputo Port Development Company, is also applying its own $70m investment programme, including infrastructure upgrades and acquiring new rail and warehouse equipment. Maputo, which is currently capable of handling 300,000 tons annually, has managed to capture 500TEU/month from South Africa’s Mpumalanga province.