DP World Adds Weekly China–Africa Service Via Shanghai and Maputo
A new loop calls at Chinese export hubs, Port Klang and two African gateways, backing a port investment programme worth about $3 billion.
DP World Shipping Solutions will begin a weekly container service connecting Chinese export gateways with East and Southern Africa in late November, widening its maritime network between the Far East and the continent.
The service, China Africa Link, starts its rotation in Shanghai and calls at Ningbo and Nansha in China, then Port Klang Westport in Malaysia, before crossing to Dar es Salaam in Tanzania and Maputo in Mozambique. It returns through Singapore to Shanghai.
The loop is built around the cargo that moves on those lanes: machinery, electronics, construction materials and automotive components. DP World says the routing gives shippers more options by tying African gateway ports to major Chinese export hubs, and that it supports growing trade flows along with links between regional and international markets.
Ganesh Raj, global chief operating officer of Marine Services at DP World, said global trade is changing and that customers need more than shipping capacity. Stronger maritime connectivity between China and Africa, he said, opens more business opportunities, and the network is being run to be smarter and more flexible so cargo keeps moving.
The new service sits on top of a port investment programme. DP World is spending $165 million to expand the Maputo container terminal, a project designed to more than double handling capacity. It has committed more than $500 million to modernising the Port of Dar es Salaam. Elsewhere it has invested in Port of Ndayane in Senegal and Banana Port in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
In October, the company, the Ogun State Government and Ogun Deep Sea Port Company signed two memoranda of understanding covering a proposed greenfield deep sea port and special economic zone in Ogun State, Nigeria. That project is intended to become a major maritime and trade hub for the country. As of October 1, 2026, DP World had committed about $3 billion to African port infrastructure and logistics.
A weekly fixed-day loop only holds if berths, cranes and inland connections can absorb the boxes it brings. Building terminals and the vessel calls that use them at the same time is what turns a port upgrade into a working corridor, and it is the piece that shipping lines cannot supply on their own. DP World's stated aim is to pair that infrastructure with its marine services to capture South–South trade growth.
