Port concession extended with additional commitments

MPDC adds another 25 years to contract

MOZAMBIQUE: The Maputo Port Development Company (MPDC) has signed an addendum to their concession that will extend its contract in the port from 2033 to 2058.

Having lodged an extension request in October 2022, the agreements was approved by the Council of Ministers last month.

The process of negotiating the extension involved a multidisciplinary team made up of representatives from the MTC, the Ministry of Labour, the Ministry of Industry and Commerce, the Ministry of Economy and Finance, the Bank of Mozambique, the Mozambique Railway and Port Institute, the Ministry of the Sea, Inland Waterways and Fisheries, the Ministry of Land and Environment, ITRANSMAR and MPDC officials.

The extension of the contract will enable MPDC to commit to further investments aimed at consolidating its position in the region. According to a statement issued by the company, more than $600 million are likely to be invested over the next three years with a total of $2.06 billion in the longer term pipeline.

These investments will include increasing the capacity of the container terminal to 1 million TEUs per year as well as increasing the capacity of the Matola coal terminal to 18 million tons per year and the general cargo terminal to 13.6 million tons per year.

Together with human capital, equipment and systems, these investments will make it possible to increase the port’s current capacity from 37 million tons to 54 million tons per year by 2058.

The negotiation of the addendum also includes a package of social investments that include the acquisition of a second passenger vessel for Kanyaka as well as contributing to the construction of the Kanyaka docking bridge.

MPDC will also contribute to the rehabilitation of the School of Nautical Sciences and the modernisation of the Practical School of the Navy in Katembe.

Significant growth attained

Last month MPDC announced its annual results, highlighting significant growth for the company and a substantial increase in cargo volume which has had a direct impact on the fees paid to the Government of Mozambique.

The Port of Maputo contributed more than $41 million dollars (excluding taxes and dividends to shareholders), marking a growth of 29% on the previous year. This financial increase consolidates the Port’s economic contribution to the country’s development.

Of the 31.2 million tons handled, approximately 25 million were made up of various ores, including chromium, ferrochrome, magnetite, coal, phosphate ore, vanadium, titanium, copper, vermiculite, among others. “The handling of these cargoes reflects the diversification strategy on which the Port of Maputo has focused in recent years,” says Osório Lucas, MPDC’s Chief Executive Officer.

PHOTO: The Government of Mozambique, represented by His Excellency the Minister of Transport and Communications, Dr Mateus Magala, and the Maputo Port Development Company (MPDC), represented by the Executive Director Osório Lucas, signed today at the Port of Maputo Gallery the addendum to the concession contract, referring to the extension for an additional 25 years (from 2033, the end date of the previous addendum).