Dredging of access channel to port of Beira, Mozambique begins

News was prepared under the information support of Online Daily Newspaper on Hellenic and international Shipping "Hellenic Shipping News".

31 Jul 2010

Dredging work on the main access channel to the port of Beira in Mozambique’s Sofala province, with the aim of allowing ships with a draught of up to 60,000 tons to enter the port,, began Wednesday, according to Mozambican newspaper, Notícias.

The work is scheduled to take 14 months and cost 43 million euros, of which 23 million are to be paid for by the government via funding from the European Investment Bank (EIB), 10 million will be cash from port management company CFM and another 10 million is a donation from the Dutch government’s development initiative (ORET).
A Ductch company, Van Oord Dredging and Marine Contractors bv has been contracted to carry out the dredging work.
Dredging of the access channel will increase its depth to original levels allowing ships with a draught of up to 60,000 tons to enter the port. It will also make it possible for the channel to be safely open 24 hours a day.
Currently, due to the constraints of the access channel, the Port of Beira can only receive ships of up to 30,000 tons only during the day, thus affecting the port’s logistics chain.

Source: Macauhub