Port of Maputo

Port in Mozambique

Port of Maputo

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Location
Country| Mozambique
Location| Maputo
Matola
Coordinates| 25°57′S 32°32′E﻿ / ﻿25.950°S 32.533°E﻿ / -25.950; 32.533
UN/LOCODE| MZMPM [1]
Details
Opened| 1544; 481 years ago (1544)
Operated by| MPDC
Type of harbour| Artificial
Statistics
2023 World Bank Container Port Performance Index| 317 (out of 405)
Website
www.portmaputo.com

The Port of Maputo, also called the Maputo-Matola port complex, is a Mozambican port located in the cities of Maputo and Matola. They are installed in Maputo Bay, on the north bank of the Espírito Santo estuary, which is separated from the Mozambique Channel by the islands of Inhaca and Portugueses and by the Machangulo peninsula.

The port belongs to the Mozambican government, which is responsible for its administration through the public-private joint venture "Maputo Port Development Company" (MPDC). It is a partnership among the Mozambique Ports and Railways (CFM), Dubai-based DP World, and Grindrod Ltd, a South African holding company.[2] The company was hired in 2003 by the government of Mozambique and functions as port operator and port authority, directing shipping, port maintenance, security, cargo terminal management, and future development planning.[3] Major port operator Dubai Ports World has invested in the company and its 15‑year government concession.[4]

The port is the terminal for three railway lines — Goba, Limpopo and Ressano Garcia — transporting products from South Africa, Eswatini and Zimbabwe. It is a part of the logistics complexes of the Maputo Corridor, the Limpopo Corridor and the Libombo Corrido.

The port was founded in 1544. It received berth and quay structures in 1850, when it became known as Port of Lourenço Marques and Port of Delagoa Bay.[citation needed]

## History

[edit]

The Port of Maputo had been a busy hub much before the establishment of the Maputo Port Development Company (MPDC); in 1972, it was handling close to 17 million tons annually. The Mozambican Civil War, which began in 1977, disrupted this streak of prosperity; by 1988, the Port of Maputo barely handled a million tons per year. The war ended in 1992, but it was not until 2003, when the MPDC was formed as a public-private partnership, that the Port of Maputo began to see an increase in business. The port went from handling 4.5 million tons per year in 2003 to handling 14 million tons—the expected throughput of 2012.[2]

## Port

[edit]

The deepwater port of Maputo consists of two principal areas of usage:

* Maputo Cargo Terminals
* Matola Bulk Terminals

The 2022 World Bank Container Port Performance Index ranked Maputo 248th out of the 348 ports surveyed.[5] In the 2023 report, the port slipped to 317th out of the 405 ports surveyed.[6]

The port attracted record volumes in 2023, much of it from South African mines due to the logistics crisis in South Africa affecting the Port of Richards Bay and Port of Durban.[7]

## LNG development

[edit]

In November 2019, international oil major Total S.A. and a gas developer, Gigajoule, signed a joint development agreement for the importation of Liquefied natural gas at the Matola harbour, Maputo.[8] The project is expected to commence from 2022 and will see a floating storage and regasification unit moored at the harbour.[9]

## See also

[edit]

* Government of Mozambique
* Maputo River
* Transport in Mozambique
* Liquefied natural gas
* List of ports in Mozambique

## References

[edit]

1. ^ "UNLOCODE (MZ) - Mozambique". service.unece.org. UNECE. Retrieved 12 August 2021.
2. ^ a b Botha, Gerhard (Summer 2012). "The Port of Maputo: Charting a Course for a Successful Development". Port Technology International. Dry Bulk and Specialist Cargo Handling. 54.
3. ^ Port Maputo, Concession Archived 2009-01-07 at the Wayback Machine
4. ^ Engineering News, Global port operator invests in port of Maputo, 25 April 2008
5. ^ Bank, World. "The Container Port Performance Index 2022 : A Comparable Assessment of Performance Based on Vessel Time in Port". World Bank. Retrieved 2024-01-17.
6. ^ "Dead last among 405 ports – SA flies the CPPI rogues flag again". Freight News. 2024-06-05. Retrieved 2024-06-07.
7. ^ Mantshantsha, Sikonathi. "Maputo port ships record volumes as SA railways and ports choke". Business. Retrieved 2024-01-17.
8. ^ Creamer, Terence. "Total, Gigajoule deal brings $350m Maputo LNG import terminal a step closer". Engineering News. Retrieved 2019-11-28.
9. ^ "Billion-dollar LNG project in southern Mozambique expected in 2020". Business Recorder. Reuters. 2019-11-27. Retrieved 2019-11-28.

## External links

[edit]

* Port Maputo official site
* Engineering News, Global port operator invests in port of Maputo, 25 April 2008