Mozambique is inviting bids to build the next phase of the Nacala port in the north of the country, funded through a 29 billion-yen ($237 million) loan from the Japan International Cooperation Agency, as the country develops capacity to increase mineral exports.
The works will include building a new container wharf and yard, an accompanying bypass road, and a rail container terminal, according to an invitation for bids, published in the state-run Noticias newspaper. The port is roughly halfway between Tanzania’s main port of Dar es Salaam, and the central Mozambican harbor at Beira. Nacala is currently the country’s third-busiest port after Beira and the capital, Maputo, according to the Japanese agency.
An initial project for urgent rehabilitation of the port, funded by a Japanese grant, was completed by Japanese contractors in September. That project involved rehabilitating the container yard and berths, adding fuel storage, and upgrading firefighting capacity at the port. The closing date for bids to construct the next phase of Nacala is Feb. 19.
The natural harbor at Nacala is 14 meters (46 feet) deep, making it “the best natural harbour in southeast Africa,” the Japanese funder said in June. The project is scheduled to be completed in 2018, along with road links between Nacala and Zambia.
Source: Bloomberg
