Mozambique: South African ports losing business to port of Maputo
Thématique :
mozambique,
sud afrique
Durban, South Africa, 5 Dec – The ports of South Africa are losing market share to that of Maputo, which is cheaper to use and requires less bureaucracy, the chief executive of Sturrock Shipping, Andrew Sturrock said in Durban Wednesday.
Sturrock said that the volume of goods that was processed via Maputo, most of it from or travelling to South Africa, had been growing substantially, particularly container cargo, coal, metal scrap for export and sugar derivatives from Swaziland.
Sturrock said that the port of Maputo now worked better as it had been partially +privatised and added, “everyone knows that when a business is managed privately bureaucracy reduces and decisions and better and made more quickly.”
The port of Maputo is managed by a consortium made up of the Grindrod and Dubai Ports World groups with a 51 percent stake, whilst the remaining 49 percent is in the hands of the Mozambican government.
However, other South African businesspeople do not share Sturrock’s opinion.
Dave Rennie, the executive director of Grindrod Freight Services said he believed that Maputo was merely a complement to South Africa’s port and part of a network that serves the region.
“I would not describe it as a direct competitor of South Africa’s ports,” said Rennie, adding that Maputo was well situated to serve the interior and was linked by road and rail to South Africa, Zimbabwe and Swaziland.
Sturrock said that the volume of goods that was processed via Maputo, most of it from or travelling to South Africa, had been growing substantially, particularly container cargo, coal, metal scrap for export and sugar derivatives from Swaziland.
Sturrock said that the port of Maputo now worked better as it had been partially +privatised and added, “everyone knows that when a business is managed privately bureaucracy reduces and decisions and better and made more quickly.”
The port of Maputo is managed by a consortium made up of the Grindrod and Dubai Ports World groups with a 51 percent stake, whilst the remaining 49 percent is in the hands of the Mozambican government.
However, other South African businesspeople do not share Sturrock’s opinion.
Dave Rennie, the executive director of Grindrod Freight Services said he believed that Maputo was merely a complement to South Africa’s port and part of a network that serves the region.
“I would not describe it as a direct competitor of South Africa’s ports,” said Rennie, adding that Maputo was well situated to serve the interior and was linked by road and rail to South Africa, Zimbabwe and Swaziland.
