Investors from Mozambique, Spain, China and Mauritius have expressed interest in managing the fishing port of Beira, in Sofala province in central Mozambique, said Carlos Calenga, director of the port’s management company.
Calenga also told daily newspaper Notícias that the information contained in the specifications had already been prepared and sent to the Ministry of Sea, Inland Waters and Fisheries for the launch of an international public tender.
“The idea behind the launch of an international public tender is to ensure the profitability, efficiency and productivity of the fishing port through a public-private partnership,” said Calenga.
Beira’s fishing port has recently been rebuilt after being destroyed by cyclone Eline, which in February 2000 hit the provincial capital of Sofala, under a US$120 million loan from China.
The contract, which was carried out by the China Harbor Engineering Company (CHEC), expanded the pier from 188 metres to 377 meters in length, allowing the mooring of 16 industrial vessels simultaneously, against the previous eight.
It also had six cold storage rooms, a 60-ton-per-day ice factory, a 50-ton-per-day fish processing room, a 700,000-ton-per-year handling capacity, and other improvements that made it the largest and most modern fishing port of its kind in Mozambique.
Artisanal fishing is practiced in the region by 21,000 fishermen, semi-industrial fishing by 13 shipowners with 24 outboard motorboats, while industrial fishing involves seven companies with 54 boats.
Source: Macauhub
