Construction of US $211m port of Beira and transport corridor in Mozambique is complete and fully operating. Business development officer of Cornelder de Mozambique, Mudiwa Mufanochiya announced the reports.
“Beira port is back on track. It was of course affected by the storm since it devastated the whole the central region of Mozambique. Fortunately, the port sustained only limited damages as preparations were made in advance to protect all equipment, machinery and cargo.
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The Beira port and corridor
The Beira corridor is one of Southern Africa’s main transport routes that links Zambia, Zimbabwe, Malawi, DRC and Mozambique to the port of Beira on the Indian Ocean. Mufanochiya also added that the corridor is now functioning although things are yet to reach the best standard.
The port was affected during the Cyclone Idai that hit Mozambique, Malawi and Zimbabwe on March 14, which claimed over 1 000 lives in all the three countries and left a trail of destruction and claiming over 1 000 lives in all the three countries. The damages caused a two weeks blockade movement.
The port sustained only limited damages as preparations were made in advance to protect all the machinery and cargo. Among the damages done on the cargo terminal included; roof damages on the warehouses, while fenders on the quays were swept away.However no full containers were damaged as they were stacked low or in pyramid shape. The gantry cranes withstood the storm, thanks to extensive tie down efforts done before the storm.
“The road to Beira was not accessible due to the flooding. Around 100 km away from Beira, bridges and roads were also damaged. However, due to extensive emergency road works they were reopened, and Beira is now again connected to the hinterland countries by both road and rail,” said Mudiwa Mufanochiya.
Pfungwa Kunaka, Director of Budgets in the Zimbabwean Ministry of Finance, said the temporary shutdown of the Beira corridor significantly affected trade flow within the southern parts of Africa, and the move to urgently fix the port was necessary and useful.
“Our country has been facing challenges after the port was affected, as it disturbed trade flow along Beira corridor, therefore this development was key,” Kunaka said.
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