Crafting efficient trade corridors in Africa is at the heart of our strategy, this is why we're committed to developing the Maputo corridor into a gateway for the region.
The reason we build more effective trade routes is to positively change the lives of those who use them. It is people who prosper most from improved trade and logistics infrastructure, and the new railway line in Maputo has allowed us to expand services and bring prosperity to the people of Southern Africa.
Our team sees the ways in which the development of the Maputo Corridor facilitates change for people living alongside it. Businesses are flourishing, new trade communities are emerging, and quality of life is improving. Developing this corridor doesn’t just mean focusing on trade, but rather improving the infrastructure to enhance the lives of the people of Mozambique and beyond.
Vital To Reviving Trade
More trade translates into a greater GDP as local exports make their way across the world.
For years, the World Bank has believed the Maputo Corridor is vital to reviving trade routes in Southern Africa. To make this happen, infrastructure had to be improved to ensure performance at a global standard, and in recent years, the wide-ranging development of the corridor’s logistics capabilities has been cited by the World Bank as an example of how to create a “successful corridor”.
It has attracted massive industrial and transport investments, improved local economic growth, and, through its diverse trade opportunities across a variety of industries, has helped strengthen ties between Mozambique and surrounding nations.
Crafting efficient trade corridors in Africa is also at the heart of our strategy on the continent. Currently in South Africa, just under 70 percent of maritime imports are via the Port of Durban. Local customers now have the option to consider the strategic location Maputo, Mozambique, as a gateway to the dry port in Komatipoort, South Africa. This newly revived trade route has unlocked huge opportunities for businesses in the region, who can rely on DP World to handle the entire supply chain process and clearance across borders without delay.
We have also invested USD $90 million in the Port of Maputo, deploying new equipment, digital solutions, and dedicated, highly trained staff, to significantly cut down on waiting times, reducing them to a point where we consistently achieve zero delays, meaning maximum reliability and efficiency for our customers.
No Port Is an Island
However, the port cannot act as a trade corridor on its own – which is why we established a connection with our dry port in Komatipoort, South Africa, close to the border with Mozambique. The dry port enables customers in South Africa to directly deliver and receive cargo in their country, meaning less paperwork and faster delivery times.
As a bonded container depot, the Komatipoort facility stores dutiable goods without payment of duty. This means that international container imports landed in Port of Maputo that are destined for the South African hinterland can now be moved under bond to Komatipoort, where full customs clearance can be provided and made ready for delivery across the country. For landlocked countries, dry ports give local markets access to the rest of the world, promoting economic development and providing the ability to earn better incomes.
Our Maputo facility also handles container shipments for customers. This is done through the revived train service connecting Maputo, Mozambique and Harare, Zimbabwe, which was launched in June last year.
A One-Stop-Shop Strategy
Connecting nations has created more versatility and cost-effective options for traders, who ultimately need one-stop-shops to improve their own livelihoods and reduce the cost of trade. Our facilities across the globe are leaning towards this one-stop-shop strategy, establishing more and more packaging centres, storage facilities, and other services.
By creating these facilities in Mozambique and South Africa, and working together with the respective governments, we are helping improve trade connections between local and international customers, enhancing their competitiveness and bringing prosperity to their people.