Mozambique Coal Logistics: Essar Ports to build new 20Mt coal terminal at Beira port

The New Coal Terminal Beira (NCTB) company, a subsidiary of the Indian group Essar Ports, plans to build a new coal terminal at the port of Beira under a concession contract signed with the Mozambican Ministry of Transport and Communications, the group indicated in a statement released on Friday.

Construction of the terminal, the first foreign deal of the Indian group’s port unit, will be carried out in two 10-million-ton phases. The first will cost an estimated US$275 million and should begin operations in the first quarter of 2020.

CEO Rajiv Agarwal told the Indian newspaper The Economic Times that the group would have a 70 percent stake in the share capital of New Coal Terminal Beira, with the remaining 30 percent held by the Mozambique’s state-owned port and railway enterprise, Portos e Caminhos-de-Ferro de Moçambique.

Mozambican coal is currently being exploited by mining companies such as Brazil’s Vale group, the Indian consortium International Coal Ventures Ltd (ICVL), the British Beacon Hill Resources and JSPL Mozambique Minerais, a subsidiary of India’s Jindal Steel and Power Ltd (JSPL).

This activity resulted in production rising from 0.4 million tons in 2010 to 11 million tons in 2014, creating opportunities for companies already involved or interested in operating coal terminals, particularly those at Beira in Sofala province and Nacala in Nampula province.

Agarwal added that the partnership’s potential clients had already shown interest in signing long-term contracts. The new terminal will serve as a departure point for coal exports, especially to the Indian market. (Macauhub)