Time For A Malawi Dry Cargo Port in Nacala

Time for a Malawi Inland Dry Cargo Port in Nacala

By Frank G. Chirwa
The most recent visit by President Chakwera to Mozambique whose itinerary included a
visit to the port of Nacala to appreciate the operations thereof, inspires confidence and
signals renewed executive commitment in as far as development of Malawi’s transport
corridors are concerned.
Malawi is one of the 44 landlocked countries in the world out which 31 are also
classified as Land-Locked Developing Countries (LLDCs).

Besides Nacala port, Malawi is also served by Dar es Salaam Port in Tanzania, Beira
Port in central Mozambique, Durban Port in South Africa and occasionally via Walvis
Bay Port in Namibia.
Currently Nacala port presents a host of advantages in as far as Malawi’s imports and
exports are concerned including the shortest distance from the sea to the two major
urban centres in Malawi serviced by rail.
It is a natural deep sea port unlike Beira port which requires periodic dredging, hence a
majority of vessel sizes may dock in Nacala at any time of the year.
This port has seen massive infrastructural developments in recent times including
installation of 4 massive shore side gantry cranes which facilitates efficient loading and
discharging of vessels.
Whilst road transportation is the most versatile and with few geographical constraints, it
is faced with high toll charges and corresponding road taxes, weight limitations,
sensitivity to fuel price fluctuations, poor road conditions and above all not ideal for
heavy and bulk movement of goods over long distances.
Rail transportation has its own challenges but is unmatched when it comes to
economies of scale in relation to moving bulk and heavy volumes cargo on land over
long distances. To put this in context; cargo which may require 150 individual trucks to
haul is easily moved by a single train.
And in terms of ton-kilometers hauled per unit of energy consumed, rail transport is
more efficient than other means of transportation. Additionally trains have a smaller
carbon footprint than trucks.
Rail and road are complimentary and both being key components of multi-modal
international shipping but in these very difficult times where global prices are on the
upward rise, it is logical that Malawi must shift its focus towards Nacala and the rail
option (both Nacala and the up-coming Sena corridor).
Malawi exports a host of agricultural commodities including tobacco, tea, cotton, sugar,
pulses whilst importing fuel, fertilizers, and raw materials in bulk over long distances via
Author is a seasoned supply and logistics professional and regularly comments on the Malawi transport
corridors.
the various ports. The inland haulage costs are very prohibitive owing to inland haulage
mode and have a huge impact on the final landed costs.
There is need for an efficient gateway that renders Malawi’s exports attractive on the
world stage and also lowers cost of importing strategic commodities; currently Nacala
fits the billing.
More exciting is the revelation by President Chakwera that Malawi seeks to fully
optimize the Nacala Port option by establishing a dry port within the precincts of Nacala.
This is something that Malawian importers and exporters have longed for in a very long
time, realization of this will surely go a very long way in addressing several trade
challenges that are currently being experienced. This dry port would operate on the
same model as the Malawi Cargo Centre in Dar es Salaam in Tanzania.
A dry port can be understood as an inland setting with cargo-handling facilities to allow
several functions to be carried out, for example; consolidation, breaking-bulk,
distribution, temporary storage, custom clearance, connection between transport
modes, allowing agglomeration of institutions which facilitates the interactions between
different stakeholders along the supply chain.
Space is a perennial challenge inside port perimeters and dry ports relieve congestion
within seaports thereby allowing more cargo to enter and exit the port. Processing
delays in the port attract serious port storage charges and having own dry cargo centre
would eliminate this.
This inland dry cargo port would be a nerve centre for all Malawi cargo via the Port of
Nacala and will offer cargo visibility, tracking, security and reduced transactions costs
and would operate in tandem with the proposed Liwonde dry port project.
Importers have a choice of ports to use for their cargoes, but with regard to the strategic
imports of fuel, fertilizers and medicines, Malawi should make it a policy to use the
Nacala rail option with the inland dry port proposal in mind.

Author is a seasoned supply and logistics professional and regularly comments on the Malawi transport
corridors.

Time For A Malawi Dry Cargo Port in Nacala

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Time for a Malawi Inland Dry Cargo Port in Nacala

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