The Maputo Port Development Company SARL is the port authority responsible for the operations of the Port of Maputo. Two access channels lead into the Bay of the Port of Maputo from the Indian Ocean. The North Channel is about 40 kilometers long and 10.1 meters deep, and the Port of Maputo’s South Channel is about 20 kilometers long and 8 meters deep. Both are well-marked, but vessels will need up-to-date information on conditions in the South Channel before attempting to enter there.

In 2002, the news reported that the cargo volume through the Port of Maputo had fallen to a low of 1.2 million tons. But new investments and renewed interest in the port led to increases that led to cargo volume of 6.2 million tons in 2005. The Port of Maputo’s capacity is 20 million tons per year.

In an effort at economic recovery, the Port of Maputo granted a 25-year concession to a European port management consortium in 2000 and formed Maputo Port Development Company, a Mozambican joint venture that took over port operations in 2003 and immediately launched into a restoration program that includes improved Port of Maputo road and rail connections with South Africa and Zimbabwe.

While the Port of Maputo offers most services needed by ocean-going vessels, resources are limited, so the port needs advance notice of need. The Port of Maputo has a small dry dock, and mobile welding and repair services are available at all wharves. Diver services are also available.

The Port of Maputo covers an area of about 129 hectares and contains 3000 meters of wharves that range in depth from 8 to 12 meters.

Operating 24 hours a day, the Port of Maputo’s Container Terminals cover an area of seven hectares and contain a berth of 300 meters with alongside depth of 11 meters. The container terminals handle containerized cargoes of fish products, rice, sugar, fruit, construction materials, and vehicles as well as a variety of other goods. The Port of Maputo container terminals have capacity to handle 100 thousand TEUs per year, and 68 reefer plug points are available.

The Citrus Terminal at the Port of Maputo handles fresh produce and citrus fruits at a wharf with two berths of a total length of 380 meters with alongside depth of 11 meters. The terminal includes a pre-cooling store with four chambers and capacity for 3200 pallets.

The Port of Maputo’s Bulk Sugar Terminal handles raw bulk sugar at a 170-meter long berth with alongside depth of 10.5 meters. The terminal includes one sugar store with capacity for 45 metric tons and two sugar stores with capacity of 40 thousand metric tons each.

The Molasses Terminal in the Port of Maputo is dedicated to handling bulk molasses and has a dedicated pipeline connecting the wharf with storage tanks. The berth is 179 meters long with alongside depth of 10.5 meters. Two storage tanks have capacity for nine thousand metric tons of cargo, and two storage tanks have capacity for six thousand metric tons.

The Port of Maputo’s Coastal Terminal handles containers, logs, vehicles, and general cargo. With three berthing positions of a total 300 meters and alongside depth of 8 meters, the terminal contains open area of 15 thousand square meters and warehouses of five thousand square meters. The terminal also has mechanical and carpenters shops and the only container maintenance and repair station in Mozambique.

The Bagged Sugar Terminal handles containerized Port of Maputo exports at a 200-meter-long berth with alongside depth of 10.5 meters. It includes a transit storage shed that specializes in handling that cargo. Cargo is moved in 25-bag sling units on forklift trucks. The capacity of the shed is storage of five thousand tons of cargo. Container-packing capacity is 24 boxes per day.

The Port of Maputo’s Matola Terminals are deep-water terminals serving in export and manufacturing industries, particularly the Oil Terminal and the new Mozal Aluminum Terminal. However, the Matola Bulk Terminals handle a variety of cargoes. With berthing position of 210 meters with alongside depth of 9.5 meters, the Grain Terminal has capacity for 400 thousand tons of bulk cereals or soya bean meal per year, and it can store up to 30 thousand tons of cargo. The Grain Terminal has mooring dolphins and can unload 250 tons her hour and load or unload bulk in railcars at 100 tons per hour.

The Port of Maputo Aluminum Terminal can handle one million tons of bulk alumina, petroleum coke, or pitch per year at its 210-meter berthing position with alongside depth of 12.6 meters.

The Petroleum Terminal, Fuel Terminal 3 in the Port of Maputo, has a berth of 230 meters with alongside depth of 10.5 meters, and it can handle 350 thousand tons of light and heavy fuels and mineral oil products per year. It has an independent quay with mooring posts and mooring dolphins.

At 205 meters long with alongside depth of 10.5 meters, the Port of Maputo’s Coal Terminal can handle 2.5 million tons of bulk mineral coal per year. The terminal contains bins/storage area for about 360 tons of coal and has water available for vessels.

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