The Municipal Council of the City of Maputo (CMCM) is preparing to revise, for the first time in 18 years, the municipality’s Urban Structure Plan, aiming to align the capital’s spatial planning framework with population growth, mobility challenges, and the effects of climate change, according to a report published on Thursday, 3 July, by Lusa.
The council intends to update the Maputo Municipal Urban Structure Plan (PEUMM), the city’s primary land-use planning instrument, which was approved in 2008. The revision is designed to respond to the profound urban, demographic, economic, social, and environmental transformations the city has undergone since the plan was first adopted.
With a population of approximately one million, Maputo faces mounting pressure on infrastructure and services, alongside challenges related to urban sprawl, mobility, land occupation, and vulnerability to extreme weather events.
To support the initiative, the Municipal Council has launched a specialised consultancy tender, which is expected to contribute to updating the planning instrument and aligning it with the city’s current development needs.
According to the terms of reference, the revision should equip the municipality with a land-use planning instrument that is ‘operational and implementation-oriented’, capable of guiding sustainable urban growth, promoting more efficient land use, and strengthening the coordination between territorial planning, mobility, and infrastructure.
The new plan is also expected to help increase the city’s resilience to climate change and support the programming and coordination of both public and private investment.
Before the new instrument is drafted, the municipal authority intends to assess the level of implementation of the 2008 PEUMM, identifying key achievements, constraints, opportunities, and lessons learned. The work will also include a territorial, urban, socioeconomic, environmental, institutional, and mobility diagnostic.
The revision is expected to establish a new territorial model for Maputo, defining the city’s spatial structure, the system of urban centres, land-use and occupation rules, mobility corridors, and priority areas for development, regeneration, densification, expansion, and environmental protection.
The integration of territorial planning and mobility is one of the central pillars of the revision. The terms of reference stipulate that the new plan must take into account the urban mobility system, including the MOVE/BRT rapid bus transit project, as well as other major infrastructure investments planned for the capital.
The revision comes at a time when the government is advancing projects aimed at improving mobility across the Greater Maputo Metropolitan Area. In May, a tender was launched for feasibility studies on two new railway branches: one connecting the Luís Cabral neighbourhood to the Machava National Stadium, spanning 8.3 kilometres, and another linking Albasine to the Zimpeto National Stadium, covering 14 kilometres.
The projects are intended to strengthen the rail network and encourage a shift towards transport modes considered more efficient, safe, and sustainable. A surface-level Autonomous Rapid Transit (ART) system, similar to a light rail, is also planned, with a line of approximately 30 kilometres connecting Maputo, Matola, and Boane.
In May, President Daniel Chapo acknowledged the existence of ‘major urban mobility challenges in the city of Maputo’, and stated that the government is working to accelerate the launch of construction works on the surface metro.
The PEUMM was the first urban structure plan produced by the Municipality of Maputo itself, drawing primarily on Mozambican expertise. The instrument established a development vision centred on improving access to housing, sanitation, mobility, infrastructure, and urban amenities, while seeking to reduce territorial inequalities and integrate peripheral areas into the capital’s broader development.
Source: Diário Económico
Original article: https://www.diarioeconomico.co.mz/2026/09/03/negocios/infra-estruturas/maputo-conselho-municipal-prepara-revisao-do-plano-de-estrutura-urbana-apos-18-anos/
