Construction of the new bridge over the Licungo River and the Mocuba ring road, in Mozambique’s Zambezia Province, will begin in 2026, funded by a $500 million package (around 31.7 billion meticais) granted by the United States Government. The announcement was made by President Daniel Chapo during a three-day visit to the province, which ended on Friday, July 25.
“We came to Mocuba to talk about what we are going to do. We haven’t forgotten what we promised here during the electoral campaign. That’s why we’re here to say: the bridge over the Licungo River and the Mocuba ring road will begin next year,” stated the President, quoted by Lusa.
The project is funded by the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC), a U.S. cooperation agency, with an additional contribution of $37.5 million (2.4 billion meticais) from the Mozambican State. The initiative is part of the “Compact II”, signed in September 2023 in Washington.
According to previous announcements, the public tender for the bridge and ring road is expected to launch by January 2025, under the Millennium Challenge Account (MCA). The plan includes the construction of a 1,800-meter-long bridge, located half a kilometer downstream from the current crossing over the Licungo River, as well as 16 kilometers of ring road, connecting to the National Road Number 1 (N1).
The MCA’s assessment states that the existing bridge is overloaded, has exceeded its useful lifespan, and has been damaged by floods twice since its construction in the 1940s. Currently, no viable alternative exists for heavy truck crossings in the region during flood events.
The project is part of the “Mozambique Connectivity and Coastal Resilience Compact”, MCC’s second financing package to the country since 2007. Zambezia, Mozambique’s second-most populous province, is the main target of this intervention, aiming to enhance connectivity, boost commercial agriculture, and improve climate resilience in coastal areas vulnerable to cyclones.
Of the total $500 million, around $310.5 million (19.7 billion meticais) will go to Rural Transport and Connectivity projects. The Mocuba bridge and ring road project alone will absorb $201 million (12.8 billion meticais). Another $83.5 million (5.3 billion meticais) will go toward rural road construction, and $11 million (700 million meticais) is allocated for road maintenance.
Additional components of the program include fiscal reforms in the agricultural sector and strengthening of local commercial chains, with $30 million (1.9 billion meticais) allocated to the Agricultural Reform and Investment Project (PRIA). Half of this will be used to reform agricultural taxation, and the other half to create the Zambezia Commercial Aggregation Platform.
The compact’s third pillar, worth $100 million (6.3 billion meticais), will focus on climate resilience and coastal livelihoods, promoting sustainable activities such as fishing, shellfish harvesting, and non-extractive initiatives.
Source: Diário Económico
