The Mozambican Dredging Company (Emodraga) announced on Friday, February 23, that it has achieved a record in 2023, with the removal of around three million cubic meters of sediment in the access channel to the Port of Beira, in central Mozambique.
Domingos Bié, chairman of Emodraga’s board of directors, told journalists during a visit to the company’s workshops at the Port of Beira that “we have achieved an all-time record. We dredged around three million cubic meters last year. This is a milestone that has never been achieved in Emodraga’s history. Last year was very good in terms of the volume of dredging in the access channel to the Port of Beira, where we have the largest volume of business.”
The 2023 record was attributed to the amount of sediment that entered the port due to the rains in the region, and the average annual volume of dredging is 2.5 million cubic meters. “Last year we did 2.8 million. This year we’ve reached a record,” said Bié.
Navigation at the Port of Beira takes place 24 hours a day, allowing large ships to enter. The largest ship, 266 meters long, called at the port in 2023.
In addition, Emodraga plans to expand its activities to dredging rivers and dams, having identified three dams in the provinces of Manica and Tete, in central Mozambique, and Niassa, in the north. “You have to realize that dams also silt up and, because of the sediment, lose their water retention capacity. We’re going to help them remove the sediment so that the dam can retain and drain what is its maximum capacity,” explained Bié.
Emodraga currently has three machines in operation, with the capacity to dredge five million cubic meters at the Port of Beira, one of the busiest in Mozambique.
