Mozambique rail and road company CFM, together with Grindrod and DP World, joint owners of port operating company Maputo Port Development Company (MPDC), have contracted Mascarenes Dredging & Management Services to carry out dredging operations at Maputo port.

The operation will deepen Mozambique's Indian Ocean port, in southeastern Africa, 9.4 metres to 11 metres from to allow fully laden Panamax vessels into port, regardless of tidal conditions.

"The vessel TSHD Pallieter arrived in Maputo on Sunday the 19th September 2010, to commence the dredging of the access channels, basins and berths in the Port of Maputo," said a statement from Grindrod.

"The project has been funded by equity contributions from the shareholders and by external debt provided by the Standard Bank of South Africa.

"The cost of the dredge will be recovered through a dredging tariff that is to be levied on port users."

The company added that the tariff has been designed by "international port consultancy" to ensure equal distribution of cost to vessels which "benefit the most" from the project.

According to Grindrod, the operation will involved in removing almost 2 million cubic metres (cm³) of material.

An area along Maputo port's access channel, which is blocked by a portion of rock, will be removed using a specially-designed disk cutter-head being fitted to the suction unit of a conventional trailer suction hopper dredger (TSHD).

The dredging project, part of the Port Master Plan, is the first major capital project undertaken by the MPDC since obtaining its concession agreement from the Government of Mozambique on 30 July 2010.