The provincial delegate of the National Institute of Maritime Transport (ITRANSMAR) in Sofala, Anabela Chaúque, in an interview with Rádio Moçambique, said on Tuesday 16 July that work to define new geographical coordinates for navigation in the access channel to the Port of Beira, in Sofala, will begin in August.
The organisation said that a hydrographic survey had first been carried out to determine the sea depth quota. The project will essentially consist of installing a maritime beacon system, which is a set of navigation guidelines.
It is an instrument that marks the lateral limits of navigable channels, natural hazards or other obstructions, important areas or configurations, guaranteeing maritime safety.
In the interview, she explained the impact that the new geographical coordinates will have on navigation in the access channel to the Port of Beira.
The infrastructure, which is located in Sofala province, in the centre of the country, saw an increase in the amount of cargo handled in the first half of this year, during which it handled a total of 161,000 containers, equivalent to 1.6 million tonnes.
According to Jan De Vries, managing director of Cornelder de Moçambique (CdM), which manages the port infrastructure, the new indicators are considered positive and robust when compared to the same period last year, when 102,000 containers were handled, corresponding to 1.4 million tonnes.
Beira Port
The official pointed out that the improvement in activities is related to the conclusion of the rehabilitation of the first phase of the minerals terminal, the acquisition of modern equipment for transporting cargo and the use of cutting-edge technology and experienced human resources, stressing that ‘as a result of these advances, there are new intercontinental shipping lines calling at the Port of Beira, which has been recognised as the most efficient terminal in the last two years’.
In October last year,a group of Chinese investors expressed their intention to build two new terminals at the Port of B eira to increase the capacity for handling goods.
It was a leading multinational in the African infrastructure construction market that initially intended to build two terminals – berths 11 and 13 – to increase the capacity for handling goods, and then build another in Nova Sofala.
