The Mozambican Dredging Company (EMODRAGA), a state-owned enterprise responsible for maintaining port access channels, requires around 4.8 billion meticais ($63.7 million) to renew its fleet, announced the Chairman of the Board, Domingos Bié.
According to Lusa, the funds will be used to acquire a new higher-capacity dredger and support vessels, such as barges, small dredgers, and tugboats, replacing two dredgers that are currently at the end of their operational life.
“We are talking about a dredger with a hold capacity of 3,000 cubic meters or slightly more,” explained Bié during a visit to the company’s workshops at the port of Beira, Sofala province. On the occasion, Sofala’s Secretary of State, Manuel Rodrigues, urged the company to capitalize on available resources and improve productivity. “What we recommend to EMODRAGA is to make the most of the installed capacity, reusing dredgers that can still operate and replacing those that have become obsolete,” he stated.
In 2023, the company reached a historic record by removing around 3 million cubic meters of sediment from the access channel to the port of Beira, surpassing the annual average of 2.5 million cubic meters. This achievement was attributed to increased sediment caused by heavy rains in the region. “We had never reached this volume in EMODRAGA’s history. It was a remarkable year,” Bié emphasized.
The company plans to expand its operations to river and dam dredging. Three dams have already been identified in the provinces of Manica, Tete, and Niassa, considered a priority for intervention.
Currently, EMODRAGA operates three machines with the capacity to dredge up to 5 million cubic meters per year, ensuring continuous navigability of the port of Beira, which receives deep-draft vessels, including ships up to 266 meters in length.
Source: Diário Económico
