The Grindrod Maputo car terminal spanning an area of 34 757 m2 came into operation in November 2007. With an initial capacity to park about 1 455 cars and an annual throughput capacity of 52 000 cars, the terminal offers an immediate solution to complement the South African car terminals operating under severe capacity constraints. The Maputo Car Terminal is a registered Transit Clearing and Forwarding agent and Maputo is an ideal complementary port for the import and export of vehicles delivering to, or manufactured in Gauteng. Plans are in place to expand the car terminal to a throughput capacity of 250 000 cars per annum in phases 2 and 3.
The agreement to lease the car terminal for a 25 year period, with the option to extend for a further 10 years, was reached with MPDC and the Government of Mozambique. Höegh Autoliners acquired an interest in the car terminal and, together with Grindrod, will co-operate on issues such as cargo operations quality with the objective of developing the terminal as a major hub port for the region.
A secondary market will focus on the second hand import car market to service other African countries and the transshipment of vehicles for the eastern seaboard.