Mozambique has granted landlocked Malawi operational rights to a dedicated terminal at Nacala Port — the deep-water port on Mozambique’s northern coast that serves as Malawi’s primary maritime gateway to global trade. The arrangement, formalised in 2023, gives Malawi direct access to port infrastructure that it previously had to share with other users through Mozambican port operators.

Why Nacala matters so much

Malawi is landlocked. Every container, bulk shipment, or cargo entering or leaving the country must transit through the territory of a neighbouring state — primarily Mozambique (via Nacala or Beira), Tanzania (via Dar es Salaam), or Zambia/Zimbabwe. This geographic reality means transport and logistics costs are structurally higher than for coastal countries, and supply chain reliability depends on the infrastructure and policies of transit states.

Nacala is Malawi’s preferred route for the northern and central regions. The Nacala Logistics Corridor includes:

  • The Port of Nacala (Mozambique) — deep-water, capable of handling large vessels
  • The Nacala railway — running from Nacala to Nkaya junction in central Malawi
  • Road links to Blantyre, Lilongwe, and onward to Zambia

What changed with the dedicated terminal

Having a dedicated terminal means Malawian cargo — whether government imports, commercial shipments, or transit cargo — can be handled through a dedicated facility without competing for berth time and handling capacity with other users. This reduces dwell times, improves predictability, and can lower handling costs for Malawian importers and exporters.

The arrangement aligns with a broader Southern Africa Trade and Connectivity Project ($500 million, 2023) that aims to reduce trade costs along the Nacala Corridor by 10% by 2027 and improve Malawi’s effective port access.

The railway bottleneck

The Nacala railway — which was the centrepiece of earlier corridor investment — has historically underperformed relative to its capacity. Reliability, maintenance, and management issues have meant that most cargo moves by truck rather than rail, adding cost and road wear.

President Nyusi of Mozambique signed agreements with Malawi and Zambia in 2023 to intensify joint use of the corridor infrastructure, and a four-country agreement (Mozambique, Malawi, Zambia, DRC) was signed to extend the railway corridor further westward. Whether railway performance actually improves depends on investment in rolling stock, track maintenance, and management — work in progress.

What the numbers look like

Nacala Port handled 3.5 million tonnes in 2024 against a capacity of 10 million tonnes — operating at 35% of capacity. It also processed a record 100,000 TEU (container units) in 2024. The port has significant headroom for volume growth.

Transit time improvements have been real: the Mwami-Mchinji one-stop border post (on the Malawi-Zambia border) and other facilitation measures have reduced transit times from 18 to 8 days for some corridors.

What this means for businesses

For companies importing goods into Malawi, the Nacala route via dedicated terminal offers more predictable handling times and clearer cost structures than before. Combined with the ongoing road improvements (MCC $350M compact), the logistics corridor from Nacala to Lilongwe and Blantyre is improving.

For companies exporting from Malawi — particularly in agricultural and mining sectors — the dedicated terminal access improves the commercial viability of export operations.

Note for operational planning: Despite improvements, Malawi’s logistics infrastructure still requires more buffer time and contingency planning than equivalent routes in higher-income markets. The direction of travel is positive; the current reality still requires realistic lead times.

Sources: Club of Mozambique, Maritime Executive, Rio Times, Supply Chain Outlook.