Maputo Port Development Co (MPDC) and Maputo Grain Terminal SA (MGT) have signed an agreement to expand grain terminal capacity at Mozambique's Port of Maputo.
As part of the US$5M project, the terminal’s static capacity would increase from 25,000 tonnes to 45,000 tonnes, increasing annual capacity from 170,000 tonnes to 350,000 tonnes, MPDC said on 13 September.
The expansion followed an increase in the volume of grain moving through the terminal, which handled
166, 000 tonnes of grain last year, the company said.
As part of the project’s next phase, handling services to other grain producers would be extended and new opportunities for the export and transit of grain to neighbouring countries and the international market would be explored, the company said.
In addition to the existing five silos, each with a capacity of 5,000 tonnes, MGT said it planned to build four silos and improve rail infrastructure to improve logistics at the terminal. Construction of the new silos was expected to take 18 months.
As well as handling grains consumed within Mozambique, the privately owned Maputo Grain Terminal acts as a base for the transit of grains to South Africa and Zimbabwe, according to the MPDC website.
The terminal has the capacity to handle most free-flowing cereals including wheat, maize, soyabeans and non-free flowing soyabean meal. Other services include vessel discharge, cleaning/fumigation, and dispatch from silos/flat store to rail or road transport.
The Port of Maputo also handles vegetable oils at the Maputo Liquids Storage Company, which comprises six heated storage tanks with a total storage capacity of 10,000m³.
Maputo Liquids Storage Company’s parent company, African Tank Terminals Limited, is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Equatorial Trading of Malaysia, part of one of Asia’s largest integrated agribusiness groups, Wilmar International Limited of Singapore.
The facility serves the domestic import and export markets, as well as being a transit facility for shipments to Mozambique’s neighbours.
Maputo Port Development Company (MPDC) is a national private company, following a partnership between the Mozambican Railway Company (Caminhos de Ferro de Moçambique) and Portus Indico, comprising Grindrod, DP World and local company Mozambique Gestores.
