JOINT ANNOUNCEMENT OF DATE OF OPERATIONS

24 March 2003

The Government of the Republic of Moçambique (GOM)
Portos e Caminhos de Ferro de Moçambique E.P. (CFM)
The Mersey Docks and Harbour Company (MDHC)
Skanska BOT AB
Liscont Operadores de Contentores S.A.
Standard Corporate and Merchant Bank (SCMB)

announce that final agreement has been reached on the concessioning and hand over of the Port of Maputo by the Government of Mozambique, as the Conceding Authority, and Portos e Caminhos de Ferro de Moçambique, E.P. (CFM), to the port concession company MPDC (Maputo Port Development Company).

The concessioning of the port of Maputo, considered to be a vital port for the Southern African region, is part of the current Institutional Reform process within Mozambique, in which it is a main strategy to invite the private sector (national and foreign) to manage port and railway infrastructures.

The achievement of Date of Operations for MPDC will represent the opening of a new chapter in the history of Maputo, which is expected will lead to a period of high investment and development not only in the Port but in the wider economy. It represents the first such public/private partnership in Africa in relation to an integrated port authority.

MPDC Sociedade de Desenvolvimento do Porto de Maputo SARL (MPDC) is a private Mozambican company owned as to 51% by the International Investor Consortium (consisting of The Mersey Docks and Harbour Company, the UK’s second largest port group, Skanska BOT AB of Sweden and Liscont Operadores de Contentores, S.A. of Portugal). The other 49% of the shares of MPDC are owned by Portos e Caminhos de Ferro de Moçambique (CFM) and the Government of Mozambique.

MPDC is funded by its shareholders, and by lending banks based in South Africa and Europe. The banking group is led by SCMB, which has the role of Agent Bank, and MPDC’s other lead lenders include the Development Bank of South Africa, and FMO of Holland.

In light of the current concession, MPDC will take over legal and operational control of the Port of Maputo as of 00h00 on 14/4/03 for a period of 15 years, subject to options to renew. Under the terms of the Concession, MPDC will be the entity responsible for providing all marine services within the Maputo Bay Port Jurisdiction area, including pilotage, tugs, line handling and dredging services. On the landside, the concession includes all of the designated port areas for international shipping within Maputo, and the coal terminal of Matola. The principal existing terminals within the concession will continue to operate under the terms of their respective leases.

Immediately after Date of Operations, MPDC will initiate a number of key investments which amount to approximately USD 70 million already guaranteed by the private sector investors. For the first three years priority will be given to the rehabilitation and development of the Port, which will entail:

The introduction of two modern-design tugs, each with a bollard pull of at least 35 tonnes.
Close cooperation with CFM on the construction of new port entrance linking directly onto the N4 highway.
The purchase of new cranes and other Material Handling Equipment.
The upgrade of roads and rails in the port.
Berth repairs.
Dredging.

Concluding Comments

Commenting on today’s announcement, His Excellency The Minister of Transport and Communication Dr Tomaz Salomão said:

“The completion of the concessioning of the Port of Maputo represents a great achievement for Mozambique and indeed for the NEPAD community as a whole. The completion of this project demonstrates that Mozambique is an attractive market for inward investment and more, that Moçambique is able to form strong and creative partnerships with major private sector investors which will benefit the economic development of the country.

The completion of the port concession, and the completion of the Ressano Garcia rail concession, will put Maputo on the map for all companies in the region engaged in the international movement of goods and create many new exciting opportunities for further investment in the regional economy.”

The President and Chairman of the Board of Caminhos de Ferro de Moçambique Rui Fonseca said the following about the milestone achieved:

‘We welcome our partners, whose financial strength will help us to pursue our investment programme, and generate the critical mass necessary to restore our position in global trade.’

Commenting on behalf of the Investors Consortium, Chairman Ken Wharton said:

“We are delighted to be participating in this partnership with GoM and CFM, and look forward to implementing our plans for the regeneration of such an important gateway for the regional economy. All parties have worked tirelessly and with great persistence and dedication to achieve this objective, and in this regard I would like to extend my thanks to all involved. We are all very excited by the prospect of continuing our close cooperation to achieve our shared objective of profitable and synergistic growth and regeneration in the years to come.”

For more information contact:

CFM	Antonio Libombo	+258 1 301 390
Consortium	Eric Leatherbarrow	+44 151 949 6038
MPDC	Emmy Bosten	+258 1 313 920