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Mozambique Minister Takes Stock of Roads and Water Situation

Mozambique Minister Takes Stock of Roads and Water Situation

he Mozambican government and the World Bank are negotiating a financial package worth about US$600 million (38.4 billion meticais) for the rehabilitation of critical sections of National Road Number 1 (EN1), which links the country from north to south.

The matter was made public by Minister of Public Works and Housing João Machatine at the end of the VIII Coordinating Council of the Ministry on Friday.

Minister Machatine further announced that the ongoing first phase of the Self-Sustaining Road Maintenance Programme (PROASME) had already allowed for periodic and routine maintenance of around 1,500 kilometres of road across the country.

The PROASME programme, part of the government strategy to reduce the deficit of funds in the road area and already at 35% completion, had also tripled revenue, with the available volume rising to 325 percent, he reported.

Machatine noted that the road sector had started with a financial deficit of 64% which had been significantly reduced – to 25% – in the last two years, adding that he believed that this positive performance would make acquiring further financing easier.

“This is a clear demonstration that the programme will revolutionise the financial needs of the road sector,” the minister said, adding that the commitment for the next three years is to continue to mobilise funds internally and externally, as well as through a diversity of initiatives in the sector.

Machatine underlined the need to review procedures, in order to optimise the performance of the Ministry of Public Works, Housing and Water Resources (MOPHRH), reflected in its internal capacity to implement development infrastructure and reduce financial dependence.

The minister  reported, in his address, that 194 billion meticais was guaranteed through to 2024, but that did not cover ongoing projects for the water sector, which include the construction of the Moamba Major, Mapai, Mugeba and Megaruma dams in the provinces of Maputo, Gaza, Zambézia and Cabo Delgado respectively.

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Machatine also highlighted the programme for the rehabilitation of rural roads, financed by the World Bank with a package estimated at US$300 million (19.1 million meticais) and by the European Union in the amount of US$130 million (8.3 million meticais) which will soon be resumed and will allow for the rehabilitation of some crucial roads across the country.

As part of that financial package, the roads linking Quelimane to Namacurra and Nametil to Angoche, as well as others in the provinces of Zambézia and Nampula, will be fully rehabilitated.

For Niassa, Minister Machatine indicated the Southern Africa competitiveness programme, worth around US$160 million, will not only guarantee the maintenance and rehabilitation of the province’s unpaved roads, but also improve some critical roads in the neighbouring province of Cabo Delgado.

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