Africa-Press – Mozambique. The Centre for Public Integrity (CIP), a Mozambican non-governmental organisation, on Tuesday questioned the point of a new airport in the south of the country, given the experience of a similar development in the northern region, which is a white elephant.
“The question that arises concerning Chongoene airport is whether it can attract traffic, business opportunities, job creation, tax revenues and business, through links between companies,” said the executive director of CIP, Edson Cortez, speaking to Lusa.
Cortez insisted on the economic rationality of the new infrastructure, noting that Chongoene is less than 30 minutes’ flight from Maputo International Airport.
“Without being an expert, I believe that Maputo International Airport fulfils the role of the new airport in Chongoene well,” he added.
The CIP executive director said that the Mozambican authorities should learn from the damage caused by the Nacala International Airport in Nampula province, which has never had enough traffic to justify the considerable investment made there.
“Nacala, which is a real white elephant. It should be a lesson, in terms of investment in public infrastructures or, at least, of when these investments are made, because, probably, they may be useful in a future context, but not in the current one,” he highlighted.
The information released by the president, Filipe Nyusi, that the airport, which bears his name, was built with money donated by China, Edson Cortez responded with the maxim: “There are no free lunches.”
But even if the project was built with donated money, he continued, the effect of the investment on the economy of Gaza province and the country should be assessed.
Filipe Jacinto Nyusi Airport cost $60 million (€53.2 million), is the first in Gaza province, has a 1.8-kilometre runway and is large enough to receive around 220,000 passengers per year.
It was built on an area of around 140 hectares in Chongoene, 233 kilometres from Maputo.
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