Africa-Press – Mozambique. In support of the Government of Mozambique’s efforts to upgrade its strategic infrastructure, the African Development Bank (AfDB) Group has recently approved a NEPAD Infrastructure Project Preparation Facility (NEPAD-IPPF) Special Fund grant of USD 665,000, to undertake the Environmental and Social Impact Assessment studies (ESIA) for the Machipanda Railway Rehabilitation Project. The strategic objective of the ESIA will ensure that the project consider resilience and sustainability issues while also provide comfort to subsequent debt financiers for the project on its bankability.
A Government coordination mechanism, led by the Ministry of Transport, will supervise the operation, and the implementation agency will be the CFM (Caminhos de Ferro de Moçambique). The specific objective of this work will be to review, identify and asses the existing environmental and social documentation and likely impacts of the rehabilitation project to be done on the Machipanda Railway line (part of the Beira Corridor), and to recommend appropriate measures for mitigation.
Watch: Rehabilitation of Beira-Zimbabwe railroad underway – AIM report
The Beira Corridor links Mozambique, to Zimbabwe, Zambia and the Democratic Republic of Congo, providing road transport along the Beira–Mutare–Harare–Chirundu–Lusaka, and rail transportation comprising two rail lines: (i) a 317-km Machipanda line (Beira Railway) linking Beira Port to the railway network in Zimbabwe (along the Beira Corridor);Route, and (ii) a 600-km Sena line linking Beira Port to the Moatize coal mines via Inhamitanga, Caia, and Vila de Sena. It’s expected that the rehabilitation works not only will restore the railways line on this strategic transport and trade corridor but also improve the tonnage capacity of rail from 60 tons wagons to 80 tons wagons. The support of the NEPAD-IPPF Special Fund will therefore play a catalytic role in unlocking both public and private investment required for the rehabilitation works.
Pietro Toigo, country manager of the AfDB in Mozambique, said: ”As part of its Integrate Africa strategy, the AfDB is committed to strengthen the transboundary rail link between Mozambique and Zimbabwe in a manner that is sensitive to social and environmental impacts”.
The African Development Bank’s 2018-2022 Country Strategy Paper for Mozambique has two pillars: (i) “Development of infrastructure to enable transformative, inclusive growth and job creation”, and (ii) “Support to agricultural transformation and value chain development”.
The African Development Bank combined active portfolio in Mozambique comprises 28 operations with a commitment of USD 1,413.1 million, including five regional operations and strategic investments in Northern Mozambique with a total commitment of USD 500 million over the past eight years, mostly in road and rail sectors, but also critical interventions in skills and tertiary education sectors.
