Mota-Engil takes over Malawi ports

Malawi Government, through the Ministry of Transport and Public Works has handed over the management and operation of Lake Malawi ports to Mota-Engil.

The official handover ceremony, which took place at Chipoka Port in Salima on Saturday, follows a signing ceremony on the management and operation of the ports along Lake Malawi between government and the firm last year.

The concession, among other things, grants the concessionaire the right to finance, manage, operate and maintain the Malawi Lake Ports for a period of 35 years as provided in the Concession Agreement.

Mota-Engil managing director for Malawi Jose Dinis Da Silva said the move will be handled by the Malawi Ports Company, a special purpose vehicle established by Mota-Engil.

Dinis Da Silva said the company has since last year been waiting anxiously to be handed over the ports, but was quick to acknowledge that there are so many challenges lying ahead “in bringing life to the ports.”

“Shipping is an important mode of transport in an economy such as ours in Malawi where people long to see a cheap mode of transport as provided by shipping,” he said.

Dinis Da Silva said when Malawi Shipping Company signed the Lake Services Concession in 2010, operations have been hampered by poor services.

According to the 2013 government annual economic report, as provided by the Concession Agreement, Mota-Engil has the right to provide for new project facilities or assets.