Maputo — Mozambique's publicly owned Ports and Rail Company (CFM) handled, in 2023, 26.6 million net tonnes.

According to the Chairperson of the CFM Board of Directors, Agostinho Langa Júnior, who was speaking on Thursday, in Maputo, at the opening of a meeting of the company's Council of Directors, this figure represents a growth of about eight per cent compared to the previous year.

"In terms of passenger transport, which, as you know, is our major social contribution, just over seven million passengers were transported, which corresponds to a growth of 25 per cent when compared to the same period in 2022', he said.

According to Langa, the terminals under CFM management handled 12.3 million metric tonnes, compared to 13.2 million metric tonnes handled in 2022, which is a reduction of around seven per cent.

This declines reflects, he said, the fall in coal exports and in imports of liquid fuels through the respective terminals at the central Port of Beira.

Langa pointed out that in 2023, Mozambique's railway-port system faced significant challenges, caused by natural disasters and regional economic difficulties, but despite the obstacles, the company remained committed to its projects in line with the government's Five-Year Plan for 2020-2024.

"For example, CFM investments amounted to around 8.748 billion meticais (136.8 million dollars at the current exchange rate), a figure that corresponds to 90 per cent of what was budgeted, with the highlight being the completion of projects such as the rehabilitation and expansion of the Port of Nacala and the Machipanda line (from Beira to Zimbabwe), the doubling of the Ressano Garcia line (from Maputo to South Africa), the upgrading of Maputo Central Station and the acquisition of locomotives and wagons for the port area', Langa said.

He added that it was also possible to conclude, during the same period, the expansion of the Beira Port Oil Terminal and the acquisition of tugboats and speedboats for the northern Port of Nacala.