A 900-km railway for exporting coal from the Tete mining region is also important for Malawi, providing efficient access to the sea.
From the devastation of civil war, in just over 20 years Mozambique has become an example of the so-called African economic boom. The mining sector, especially with regard to coal but also aluminium and gold, plays a fundamental role in the country’s economic growth (which the International Monetary Fund estimates at 8% over the medium term). The Mozambican government has entered into agreements with leading mining and oil companies (large off-shore deposits have been identified) which include, in addition to mining concessions, also important investments in the area of infrastructure, especially rail and port facilities. Heavily damaged during the hostilities, the Mozambican rail network (around 3000 km long with a reduced gauge of 1067 mm) is at the centre of a challenging, complex plan for the reconstruction and relaunch of all the major lines. Victor Pedro Gomes, president of CFM, the state-owned company that manages rail and port infrastructure, recently underscored that Mozambique has recorded 25% growth in the rail sector and 22% in the port sector in recent months. The company’s operating income rose by 41% in 2014 from its 2013 level, reaching a figure of 75 million dollars. Antonio Ingles, Permanent Secretary of the Transport and Communications Ministry, has illustrated some of the government’s priorities for the sector: in the country’s north the main focus is naturally complete activation of the connection between the Moatize coal field and the port terminal of Nacala-a-Velha which runs through neighbouring Malawi and is known as the “Nacala Corridor”.
Franco Tanel
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