Malawi to benefit from tobacco warehouse at Beira port
Cornelder de Mozambique (CdM), the concessionaire of the Beira port’s major container and general cargo terminals, is building a $2.5 million (K950 million) tobacco warehouse that will also cater for Malawi’s tobacco destined for export.
Apart from the deep sea port of Nacala in Mozambique, some of Malawi’s tobacco—the principal export crop wiring more than half of the country’s exports— passes through the port of Beira to its export market.
CdM sales and marketing manager Felix Jamie Machado told members of the Association of Business Journalists (ABJ) on a tour of the port last week sponsored by National Bank of Malawi (NBM) that they are building the warehouse in consultation with the tobacco authorities in Malawi.
“Malawi will greatly benefit from this warehouse because tobacco will be stored there before being shipped,” he said.
Tama chief executive officer Graham Kunimba said with the tobacco terminal in place, it means Malawi’s tobacco merchants will benefit in terms of onward transmission to export markets.
He said this will also mean that when a ship comes, its full capacity will be utilised at one go.
According to Beira port master plan, the company plans to improve access to the facilities, expand the existing terminal as well as building new ones to handle fertiliser which is in the final stages and also build a dry bulk terminal.
Machado said they are also planning to build a new 600-metre quay and have invested $200 million [K76 billion].
“We don’t want containers to stay long at the port. On the storage side, we are expensive because we don’t want to promote storage,” he noted.
A penalty of $20 (K7 600) per day is charged is the goods exceed the designated number of day to be at the port, according to Machado.
The dry bulk terminal will handle a number of products such as coal, chrome, manganese and handle mobile ship loaders and have proper drainage and dust suppression.
On the fertiliser terminal expected to cost $15 million [K5.7 billion], Machado said it will have a bulk handling and storage capacity of between 6 000 to 8 000 tons per day and a storage buffer of between 70 000 and 100 000 tones.
Despite the port being strategically located, the official said there is need to improve further on service delivery particularly in the Beira corridor, citing challenges that include delays and long documentation procedures, poor state of road and rail infrastructure that needs upgrading and harmonisation of customs procedures.
On the other hand, Machado touted the corridor for being the safest route because of strict access control, full electric fencing, single gate access and Closed Circuit Television (CCTV).
Other advantages include its excellent connectivity because it is integrated into the Southern and Eastern African shipping networks and has direct calls from the world’s largest shipping lines.
CdM has a 67 percent stake in a joint venture with CFM, a Mozambique Ports and Railways Company which owns the remaining 33 percent and is the authority for maritime gateway.
