Capital dredging project will accommodate larger vessels, support growing terminal capacity and reinforce the Port of Maputo’s role as a competitive gateway for regional trade
The President of the Republic of Mozambique, His Excellency Daniel Francisco Chapo, has officially launched the capital dredging of the Port of Maputo’s access channel, marking the start of a US$150 million project designed to strengthen the port’s competitiveness and expand Southern Africa’s access to international markets.
At the ceremony held at the Port of Maputo, President Chapo gave the formal instruction for dredging operations to begin, describing the investment as a strategic choice about the role Mozambique intends to play in the regional, continental and global economy.
The project will deepen and widen the channel, enabling the Port of Maputo to accommodate larger vessels and allowing shipping lines to move more cargo per call. This is expected to create greater scope for economies of scale, more regular services and improved predictability for customers using the Maputo Corridor.
“When a Mozambican port becomes more competitive, we do not only bring Mozambique closer to the world. We bring Southern Africa closer to the world,” President Chapo said.
The President highlighted the Port of Maputo’s role in connecting major industrial and production centres in South Africa, Eswatini, Zimbabwe, Botswana and other regional markets to global trade routes. He said the project would help transform Mozambique’s geographic position into an economic advantage for the wider Southern African region.
Aligning maritime access with terminal expansion
The dredging project is being implemented alongside substantial investments in the Port of Maputo’s landside infrastructure, including the expansion of the DP World-operated container terminal, the Matola coal terminal and facilities handling minerals, bulk and general cargo.
Over an estimated 12-month period, approximately 21.7 million cubic metres of material will be removed using seven specialised vessels. The project will increase maximum channel depths to approximately 15.3 metres and nearly double the width of the channel along its main sections.
This additional maritime capacity is intended to ensure that investments in port terminals can be fully utilised by the larger vessels increasingly deployed in international shipping.
“The opportunity is not simply to receive a larger vessel,” said MPDC Chief Executive Officer Osório Lucas. “It is the ability to move more cargo per call, create greater regularity in shipping services, offer more predictability to customers and support new logistics solutions.”
The container terminal expansion will increase its handling capacity to 650,000 TEUs, while the coal terminal is being expanded to 12 million tonnes and mineral bulk capacity to 20.6 million tonnes.
The channel project forms part of a wider investment programme of more than US$2 billion planned for the Port of Maputo.
In 2025, the Port of Maputo handled approximately 32 million tonnes of cargo, reflecting its growing importance to Mozambique and the wider regional economy. Both President Chapo and the MPDC CEO stressed, however, that additional port capacity will only deliver its full value if every component of the logistics chain evolves with it.
For regional cargo owners, the competitiveness of the Maputo route depends not only on maritime and terminal capacity, but also on reliable rail and road connections, efficient border operations, streamlined customs and administrative processes, and the interoperability of digital systems.
“A competitive port does not end at the quay,” President Chapo said. “It depends on the railway, the road, border efficiency, Customs, payment systems and logistics operators. It depends on all these institutions being able to function as one system.”
He called for infrastructure investment to be accompanied by simpler procedures, greater digitalisation and closer coordination among public and private stakeholders throughout the corridor. The launch of the Maputo Port Community System in July 2026 — the first platform of its kind in Mozambique — was highlighted as an important step towards integrating information and processes across the port and logistics community.
The capital dredging will be undertaken by China Road and Bridge Corporation, with the Port of Maputo remaining operational throughout the project.