Mozambique: New Beira Fishing Port Able to Store Produce for a Year
Maputo — The new Beira fishing port, inaugurated in
October 2019, will receive as from this month large tonnage ships that can
discharge fresh fisheries produce from other countries, reports Monday's issue
of the independent daily "O Pais".
The director of the fishing port, Antonio Remedio,
told the paper that it can conserve fisheries produce for a year. He said that
currently a 107 meters long fishing vessel is unloading 700 tonnes of horse
mackerel from Namibia. (This species, known as "carapau" in
Mozambique, is a key source of protein in Mozambican cities).
"This is the first time we have received ships of
this size, carrying fresh produce", said Remedio. "This justifies the
investment made by the government in rebuilding Beira fishing port".
He said the port has cold stores that can keep
fisheries produce at minus 25 degrees centigrade for a year. For tuna, the
storage temperature is minus 60 degrees. Conditions are thus being established
to avoid losses of produce after unloading.
The investment in the fishing port also included the
acquisition of cranes and forklift trucks to facilitate unloading.
During the period when the fishing port was closed,
all imported fresh produce was unloaded at the Beira commercial port, which imposed
high costs on the owners.
The shipowners told "O Pais" that the new
fishing port has brought them economic advantages. "We have excellent,
modern cold storage facilities", sad one of them, Martins Mario, "and
this is advantageous for us because of the better quality of the product".
He also praised the hygiene conditions in the port.
The original Beira fishing port was built in the
colonial era, and decayed over time until it was completely destroyed by
cyclone Eline in 2000.
In rebuilding the fishing port, the authorities
extended the quay from 188 to 377 metres, allowing 16 industrial fishing
vessels to dock simultaneously. The previous limit had been eight.
The reconstruction cost 120 million US dollars,
provided as a loan from the Chinese government.
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