The city of Pemba, the provincial capital of Cabo Delgado, faces the risk of partial isolation from the rest of the country due to erosion that threatens to sever National Road Number One (N1), the main road access to the city, according to the newspaper O País.
The National Roads Administration (ANE) revealed that containment works should have been completed before the start of the current rainy season. However, only now has it been possible to secure the necessary funds to halt the advance of the erosion, which is undermining the stability of the N1’s shoulder.
“Over the past months, we have been working to identify the best solution to contain that erosion, and the solution we are bringing forward is, in fact, the installation of gabions to protect the slope and the base of that crater, combined with a water reception basin,” explained Jorge Govanhica, ANE’s delegate in Cabo Delgado.
The official indicated that the funds for the execution of the project — estimated at around 2.3 million dollars — are already available, having been allocated by the Government. However, the start of works is conditional on the completion of an environmental impact study, a legal requirement for the issuance of the respective licence.
“It is necessary to carry out a series of studies to ensure that the activities do not affect the environment. The next step is therefore to work towards obtaining the environmental licence and, on the other hand, to select the contractor and create all the administrative conditions to begin activities,” Govanhica added.
The N1 is the country’s main road artery linking the north and south, and any disruption along this section could have significant consequences for the mobility of people and goods, as well as for the supply of the city of Pemba and neighbouring districts.
Source: Diário Económico
