Mauritius - Port ExpansionMauritius - Port Expansion

This is a best prospect industry sector for this country.  

Overview
As the country’s sole maritime gateway, Port Louis harbor plays a vital role in the national economy.  It handles about 99.5 percent of the total volume of external trade, equivalent to 8.1 million tons of cargo annually, and directly contributes two percent to Mauritius’ GDP.
 The Mauritius Ports Authority (MPA) regulates and controls the port sector and manages port infrastructure, related facilities, and equipment.  The Cargo Handling Corporation (CHC) Ltd is responsible for the management of all port handling operations pertaining to containers and general cargo.

The government actively promotes the ocean economy and sees the Port as a potential container transshipment hub in the region.  Since commencing operations in 1999, the container terminal has experienced steady growth in container trade as well as a moderate growth in transshipment trade.  In October 2017, the new container terminal with an extended quay length of 800 meters and a dredged depth of 16.5 meters was inaugurated.  As a result of the extension works, the capacity of the terminal increased from 550,000 TEUs (Twenty-Foot Equivalent Unit) to around 1 million TEUs.  Port Louis is now one of the deepest ports in the southwest Indian Ocean, capable of handling container vessels with a draft of about 15.0 meters and a capacity of 12,000 TEUs.

To cater for container traffic beyond 2025, MPA has proposed the development of an island container terminal with a capacity of 1.5 Million TEUs.  The project would, in effect, require the building of a manmade island just off the current container terminal.  The MPA also plans to construct a breakwater structure to create a tranquil basin at the container terminal.  The aim is to work towards a public-private partnership deal for both projects, which combined are valued at $783 million.

Port handling equipment is imported.  Five gantry cranes were supplied by South Korea and the United Arab Emirates, and most of the forklifts, lifts, and skip hoists were imported from China, the United States, and France.  In March 2016, the Cargo Handling Corporation issued an expression of interest for consultancy services for the procurement of two post panamax ship-to-shore cranes, six rubber-tire gantry cranes, and associated equipment.  This equipment was acquired from China in 2017.  The Cargo Handling Corporation has also recently upgraded the NAVIS operating system currently used for container handling and has invested heavily in security around the terminal.  In the 2019-2020 budget, the Prime Minister announced that the Cargo Handling Corporation will acquire one additional ship-to-shore crane along with associated equipment at the cost of $21.4 million.

(total market size = (total local production + imports) - exports)
Data Sources: i) Statistics Mauritius, ii) Embassy Estimates for 2018

Leading Sub-Sectors
·        Gantry cranes
·         Forklifts/trucks with handling equipment
·         Loading and unloading machinery
·         Land reclamation equipment and services
·         Onshore and offshore bunkering
·         Construction of an island container terminal and breakwater
·         Container  terminal technology

Opportunities
Island Container Terminal and Breakwater Structure
The Mauritius Ports Authority has commissioned a techno-economic feasibility study on the construction of an island container terminal opposite the existing container terminal in order to cater for container traffic beyond 2025.  In 2018, port operations were stopped for a total of 24 days because of cyclones and swells at berth.  This caused losses amounting to about $68 million for the trading community.  The Mauritius Ports Authority looks to resolve this issue by constructing a breakwater structure.  At the time of writing, the Mauritius Ports Authority was launching an information memorandum to gauge the interest of promoters for both the island terminal and the breakwater structure.  The aim is to work towards a public-private partnership deal for both projects, which are valued at $783 million.

Construction of Petroleum Jetty and Supply of Bunker Fuel
Mauritius is strategically located on the east-west route in the Indian Ocean, linking Africa and Asia, as well as Pacific Ocean shipping reached via the southern route around South Africa.  This presents opportunities for offering bunkering services.  A significant liberalisation of the Mauritian bunker market was undertaken in 2014 with government incentives provided through reduction and removal of charges and duties and an improved process for issuing of licenses and import permits.  Deliveries by barges increased from 273 in 2016 to 800 in 2017.  Bunkering services are carried out year round by six local suppliers, namely:  Indian Oil (Mauritius) Ltd, Vivo Energy Mauritius Ltd, Total Mauritius Ltd, Engen (Mauritius) Ltd, Taylor Smith Bunkering, and Bomin (Mauritius) Ltd.  Three grades of bunker fuel, namely MGO (DMA), IFO 180 cst (RME), and IFO 380 cst are currently available in Port Louis.  In the June 2019 budget speech, the Prime Minister announced a series of measures to boost the bunkering sector.  These include:  (i) a four year tax holiday on income derived from bunkering of low sulphur heavy fuel oil; (ii) refurbishment of storage facilities to cater for low sulphur heavy fuel oil; and, (iii) allowing ship-to-ship bunkering.

The Government plans to develop Mauritius into a petroleum and bukering hub and it has been announced that a petroleum jetty will be built in the north western part of the island.  This will require the construction of tanks with a total storage capacity of 500,000 metric tons and a jetty of a total length of 600 meters with a draft of 20 meters.

Web Resources
Ministry of Ocean Economy, Marine Resources, Fisheries, Shipping, and Outer Islands

Mauritius Ports Authority  

Mauritius Freeport Portal  

Mauritius Freeport Development  

Mauritius Trade Easy  

Cargo Handling Corporation Ltd