Africa-Press – Mozambique. The Mozambican Government will present in March the construction project for the north-south railway line, valued at US$7.2 billion (€6 billion), said the Minister of Transport.
“We finalised last year the evaluation for the variation of the north-south railway line. Once the Government approves the concept, it will make a statement, but we believe that by the end of the rainy season [March] we will also make an announcement,” said Mozambique’s Minister of Transport and Logistics, João Matlombe, on Friday during the reopening of the country’s main road, which had been closed for two weeks.
According to the Minister, the rainy season demonstrated the importance of combining infrastructures, namely road, rail, and maritime, to avoid dependence on land transport.
“Fortunately, this exercise has been carried out by the Ministry of Transport and Logistics throughout last year. We managed to complete all the preliminary studies and are now in a position to go to the market to mobilise resources (…) for the railway line connecting north and south,” said the Minister.
According to Matlombe, the transport sector also has completed studies on the alternative road project to National Road 1 (N1), as a way to ensure the country can face rainy seasons with “some naturalness”.
The first phase of the north-south railway line will have a length of approximately 1,500 kilometres.
Mozambican President Daniel Chapo announced today the resumption of traffic on National Road 1 (N1), the main land route, previously suspended due to cuts caused by rains and floods, promising further efforts to support the victims.
“Before our visit to Niassa and before going to Cabo Delgado, we visited National Road 1 on the stretch between 3 de Fevereiro and Incoluane to see the work that was being done. What we did was give a clear recommendation to the contractor to increase equipment and working hours, and today we are honoured to announce that on the N1 the connection has been restored,” said Daniel Chapo.
The Mozambican President had assured last Tuesday the restoration of traffic on National Road 1 (N1) within a maximum of two weeks, noting that the rains continue to affect Mozambican families and promising further efforts to mitigate their impacts.
