Posted on September 22, 2025
State-owned Mozambique Dredging Company (EMODRAGA) has announced it needs approximately 4.8 billion meticais (about US$75 million) to renew its aging fleet, according to a statement made today.
“We need to acquire a new dredger and other smaller vessels — including small dredgers, barges, and tugboats,” said Domingos Bié, Chairman of EMODRAGA’s Board of Directors, during a visit to the company’s yards at the Port of Beira, in Sofala province.
According to Bié, the renewal plan includes decommissioning two outdated dredgers and replacing them with a single, higher-capacity unit capable of holding approximately 3,000 cubic meters or more.
During the visit, the Secretary of State for Sofala province, Manuel Rodrigues, emphasized the importance of improving operational efficiency and maximizing existing assets.
“Our recommendation to EMODRAGA is to fully utilize its installed capacity, particularly its dredgers, and repurpose those that are becoming obsolete,” Rodrigues stated.
In 2023, EMODRAGA achieved a historic milestone by dredging nearly three million cubic meters of sediment from the access channel to the Port of Beira — a record volume for the company.
“We’ve never dredged this much in EMODRAGA’s history,” said Bié at the time. “The increase was largely due to higher sediment accumulation caused by regional rainfall.”
On average, EMODRAGA typically removes around 2.5 million cubic meters of sediment annually. The 2023 figures exceeded this, supporting 24-hour navigation at the Port of Beira and accommodating deep-draft vessels, including a 266-meter-long ship — the largest to dock at the port last year.
In addition to port maintenance, EMODRAGA is expanding its operational scope to include dredging of rivers and dams. The company has already identified three priority dams located in Manica and Tete provinces (central Mozambique), and Niassa in the north.
Currently, EMODRAGA operates three dredgers, primarily in the Port of Beira, with a total annual dredging capacity of five million cubic meters.
