Investment in information technology has connected the Port of Maputo live with its mine customers in South Africa, according to Osório Lucas, chief executive officer of the Maputo Port Development Company (MPDC).“We have spent a lot of time investing in technology in order to improve the digitisation of the port,” he told Freight News.The IT system informs the port when a truck has been loaded at the mine, along with the details of the vehicle and the truck driver.It informs the port when the truck has gone through the KM7 border post on the South African side, and the KM4 on the Mozambican side. “This means we can plan the resources needed for when the truck arrives at the port,” he says.Remote weighbridges have been installed at the entrance and exit to all the storage areas, which enables the mines to monitor stocks within the port live. All port operations are now paperless. Security staff use tablets to capture information of visitors.Road and rail infrastructure in the port itself has been upgraded to allow it to move from two million tons to 4.2 million tons of chrome a year by rail, with a further 5.8 million tons on road. The port now has a storage capacity of 10 million tons of ore. Work on the strengthening of the quay walls and slabs on berths 6, 7, 8 and 9 is progressing well. Berths 6 and 7 will be at 16-metre draught and berth 9 at 15 metres when completed early next year. The port has been able to load vessels of up to 140 000 tons before the completion of the dredging. This will be increased as the berths are dredged to minus 16 from minus 12.5 in early 2022.The next step in the digitisation of the port operations is to manage the loading of vessels.An online planning system has obviated the need for physical meetings with agents.Skills are being upgraded to facilitate the modernisation of the port operations and planning.MPDC has its own training centre equipped with simulators for gantries and ground handling equipment. Measurable benef its include the reduction of truck turnaround times from three hours to one, as well as faster loading of vessels. Safety has also improved due to better management of risks. The IT System informs the port when a truck has been loaded at the mine, along with the details of the vehicle and the truck driver.– Osório Lucas
