Maintains commitment to infrastructures

Mozambique has defined infrastructure as an important investment pillar, a decision that explains its efforts to expand and modernise the roads and railways linking the country to the hinterland.Representing the Mozambican government at the opening of the 19th Intermodal Africa Conference, held in the city of Beira, Sofala province, the Minister of Science, Technology and Technical, Professional and Higher Education explained that the development was taking place in coordination with the governments of the countries served by these transport corridors, in particular those of the Southern African Development Community (SADC).Speaking to an audience of managers of port and rail, maritime and road corridor operators and providers of logistics services to the sector, Jorge Nhambiu said that Mozambique had enjoyed positive results from its interactions with hinterland countries, ensuring that regional economic integration would become a reality.

The rehabilitation of EN6 and the investments in the ports of Beira, Nacala and Maputo were included in the list of infrastructure for which investments had been found.

Concerning the rehabilitation of EN6 from Beira to Machipanda on the border with Zimbabwe, Minister Nhambiu said that the road would play an important role in the transport of 11 million tons of miscellaneous products annually, against the six million tons that are currently handled.

“It is our vision that national ports capitalise on the potential of rail and road infrastructure, which will in turn contribute to our balance of payments and gross domestic product growth,” he said.

Nhambiu spoke about the ongoing dredging in the Port of Beira, which would restore thw navigable channel there to eight metres, allowing the port to receive ships of up to 60 tons.

The dredging in Beira would usher in conditions for connection with the main global trading hubs, the minister said.Many other investments were being made in the north of the country, including Phase Two of Nacala port rehabilitation, which would boost the economy of the north, as well as neighbouring countries.Also speaking at the meeting, Deputy Minister of Transport and Communications Manuela Rebelo noted that the 19th Africa Intermodal Conference came at a time when Mozambique was engaged in the modernisation of infrastructure to enable it to serve its customers in the SADC efficiently.

António Libombo, representing Cornelder de Moçambique, the company which operates the Port of Beira, said that his firm was investing with a view to making Beira a world reference port, while the chairman of the Beira Commercial Association, Jorge Fernandes, said that the conference constituted a great opportunities for entrepreneurs in Beira to establish productive partnerships.