The Mozambican government on Tuesday approved a plan to restructure the state-owned Matola Silos and Grain Terminal Company (STEMA), increasing its storage capacity from 45,000 to 110,000 tonnes, and to set up a new grain terminal in the northern port of Nacala with the capacity to store up to 100,000 tonnes of grain.
Between them, the two projects are budgeted at 55 million US dollars. Speaking to reporters after the weekly meeting of the Council of Ministers (Cabinet), the government spokesperson, Deputy Health Minister Mouzinho Saide, said the projects will increase the country’s grain reserve capacity for food security, and to supply the domestic market.
The results expected from the expansion of the STEMA silos, he said, included the attraction of larger bulk cargo ships to Maputo port. For both STEMA and the Nacala terminal new unloading equipment, to transport grain from the ships to the silos, will be required.
The Nacala grain terminal would also become a “strategic partner” of the Pro-Savana programme. This is a programme of triangular cooperation between Mozambique, Brazil and Japan, intended to develop agricultural production in the north of the country.
The expansion of the storage facilities at STEMA goes hand in hand with the dredging of the Maputo port access channel, from the current depth of 11 metres to 14.2 metres, allowing ships of up to 80,000 tonnes to enter the port.
Source: AllAfrica
