Coal exports from Maputo port have increased from 1.5 million tons to over four million tons since 2003, according to the port’s commercial manager Ricardo Roberts. The number of ships docking at the port has almost doubled to 1,030 a year.
The port's success coincides with Mozambique’s coal-mining boom and the arrival in 2003 of Grindrod, Africa's largest shipping company, and DP World of Dubai, each of which holds a 25 per cent stake in the port, with the other half belonging to the government.
Based 460km south in Durban, South Africa, Grindrod is investing up to $800m to boost the cargo-handling capacity by 20 million tons in the next four years, and predicts that its capacity will increase from its current 13 million tons to 50 million tons by 2030.
Maputo port is proving attractive to major exporters such as Exxaro Resources and Coal of Africa from South Africa, whose Richards Bay Coal Terminal in KwaZulu-Natal, Africa’s biggest coal export facility, charges high port costs and restricts access to smaller producers.
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