The Port of Beira is experiencing a slight decrease in cargo handling from traditional operator countries such as Zimbabwe, Zambia, Malawi, Democratic Republic of Congo (DR Congo) and Botswana, due to the negative impact on the world economy and logistics as a result of the conflict between Russia and Ukraine.
This was recently revealed in the city of Beira, Sofala province, by Jan Vries, chief executive of Cornelder de Moçambique, the manager of the complex, during the inauguration of several state-of-the-art equipment valued at over US$10 million.
Cited by Notícias, Jan Vries said that the target initially set for this year was to handle around 278,000 containers, but so far the figure was less than half of the plan and with losses of around 5 percent.
“After the covid-19 peak everything was pointing to a period of economic revival, but we now have this adversity and our hope is for better days to come,” he said.
The source explained that the port complex plans, in the near future, to handle approximately 700,000 containers per year by focusing on automation of state-of-the-art equipment.
Vries said that the aim was to make cargo movement more flexible, thus eliminating the current scenario of prolonged truck stoppages in the transport of goods from the port to the hinterland.
The managing director noted that investment in cranes and computer systems represents the focus of the moment and with this we intend to increase the capacity of the Port of Beira. “The cranes displayed at that container terminal are in the process of being modernised and after their completion will handle around 450,000 containers per year, representing a step forward for that terminal which, in this way, will increase its competitiveness within the scope of the Beira Development Corridor.”
