Civil Engineering December 2021 | Vol 29 No 11

T he Port of Maputo, situated in heart of Maputo City, in the Maputo Province, is the largest and busiest port in Mozambique. Its location on the southeast coastline of the African continent and its proximity to neigh- bouring landlocked countries strategically positions the port as one of the most prominent in the region. This port is an integral element of the Maputo Corridor, which is a transport corridor linking the Port of Maputo with the highly industrialised and productive provinces of Mpumalanga, Limpopo, and Gauteng in South Africa. In 2019, prior to the Covid-19 pan- demic, the Port of Maputo reportedly handled 21 million tonnes of cargo. 80% of the cargo to the port arrives via the EN4 road, an extension of the N4 freeway from South Africa. Although the rail corridor is the shorter and theoretically fastest route, its well-documented inefficiencies make the EN4 corridor more attractive to the regional trade industry and freight haulers. The Port of Maputo generates over 800 heavy vehicle trips a day, of which 90% come via the Lebombo border post. With the port being located at the heart of the City of Maputo, the only access to the port is via the EN4 which traverses Matola City and eventually connects to Maputo City. The port traffic travelling on the EN4 competes for road space with the high volumes of commuter traffic. The trucks then connect to the port’s access road via an interchange and a single lane bridge. There is only one entrance point allowed for trucks, which is located about 800 m from the EN4 interchange. The high levels of traffic congestion experienced at the port had a negative effect on the port’s operations and general performance. The port operator, Maputo Port Development Company (MPDC), therefore appointed Koleko to reduce traffic congestion and delays at the port. The scope entailed the port’s traffic situational analysis, roads and intersections capacity evaluation, proposals to mitigate the traffic congestion, a feasibility study and the design of a new truck staging area. The study area was limited to the MPDC’s jurisdictional boundaries which include the port and the main access road from the EN4 interchange. A COMPLEX ENGINEERING PROBLEM Based on the initial discussions with the client and site observations, the problem initially seemed to be insufficient road ca- pacity. The obvious solution was widening the road, including the bridge. However, based on preliminary investigations, the team realised that the conventional trans- port engineering solution of widening roads would not be sustainable in the long run. The traffic problem experienced at the port and on the EN4 had to be addressed from a holistic perspective. The traffic situation was diagnosed as a complex problem which was influenced by SANRAL SA I CE 2021 Nat i onal Awards Category: I nternat i onal WINNER International category (Sponsored by SKI Civil and Structural Engineers) KEY PLAYERS Client: Maputo Port Development Corporation Consultant: Koleko Port of Maputo Traffic Study Traffic congestion at the Port of Maputo 38 December 2021  Civil Engineering