A coal terminal to be built at Mozambique’s Beira port could become a gateway for imports and exports from surrounding landlocked countries (Zimbabwe, Zambia, the DRC, Malawi and Botswana). The port could also result in a substantial increase in Mozambique’s coal export to India. As reported by Mining Weekly, India-based Essar Ports signed a 30-year concession agreement last year with the country’s government to construct the terminal in a public-private partnership.

‘The new coal terminal at Beira will be the closest evacuation facility for Mozambique’s coal reserves, [which are] estimated [to be] in excess of 23 billion tons,’ said Essar Ports CEO Tej Nargundkar at the IHS Markit South African Coal Export Conference held recently in Cape Town. He added that the terminal will be the closest to Mozambique’s coal mining region, which is 580 km away. Nargundkar also noted the distance from Beira to the coast as a clear advantage.

At present, Mozambique exports 40% of its coal to India, 30% to countries in the Far East, 25% to Europe and 5% to other regions. The new terminal is set to be commissioned in January 2020 and will have an expected cargo handling capacity of 20 million tons a year.

6 February 2018
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