Africa-Press – Mozambique. Mozambican President Daniel Chapo warned yesterday of the need to create an entity to impose “order and discipline” on the various operators at the Port of Beira, in Sofala, central Mozambique, in order to make the infrastructure “more efficient”.
“We will continue to work so that, in a coordinated manner, we therefore design a master plan [so] that there is a single entity that imposes order and discipline on everyone who is part of the Port of Beira and so that we can develop all these concerns in a coordinated way and make our Port of Beira more efficient than it is today,” Chapo said during a visit to the port infrastructure.
This concerns an entity that, among other responsibilities, should lead the development master plan of the Port of Beira, preventing the various concessionaires from making “uncoordinated investments”, a fact that compromises the efficiency of the port, the President said.
“The Port of Beira really needs an entity that can manage the master plan and ensure compliance with the master plan by all those who are part of the Port of Beira. I say this because, for example, at the moment we have a single entrance and a single exit, and a single point where lorries enter and leave; it makes no sense,” said the head of state, criticising the lack of alternative access routes to the port.
According to Chapo, the master plan will be drawn up in coordination with the private sector and public companies operating at the Port of Beira.
On 12 December, Mozambican Minister of Transport João Matlombe launched construction works for an alternative access road to the Port of Beira and a logistics centre, aimed at easing congestion to prevent the diversion of cargo to other countries.
“With the construction of the Dondo Logistics Support and Facilitation Centre and the access road to the Port of Beira, we expect to significantly decongest access to the Port and the city of Beira, improve the safety and efficiency of goods and services, as well as prevent the diversion of cargo from the Port of Beira to other countries,” the minister said.
According to Minister Matlombe. around 3,000 lorries travel daily on National Road 06 (N6), of which 1,000 are destined for the port, but “only 200 manage to enter and the remaining 800 face difficulties due to access to the port itself”.
On 26 November, the Mozambican government announced that the company CFM will lead the development of the Dondo Logistics Terminal, covering an area of 70 hectares, in response to strong demand for the Port of Beira from neighbouring countries.
In a recent resolution, the government also authorised the direct award of the project to CFM and created the negotiating team to prepare the proposal for the concession contract for the infrastructure of the future logistics terminal, in Sofala province, in the centre of the country.
In August, the concessionaire Cornelder forecast an investment of 640 million meticais (8.5 million euros) in the modernisation and expansion of the infrastructure and the acquisition of new equipment.
