The Maputo City Council announced this Wednesday, 5 March, that the Maputo Infrastructure Company will start operating later this year, an initiative aimed at improving accessibility and urban mobility in the country’s capital, Agência de Informação de Moçambique reported.
The information was shared by the chairman of the Municipal Council, Rasaque Manhique, during the presentation of the balance of the fulfilment of the activity plan for the fourth quarter of 2024. ‘We would like to inform everyone that, later this year, Maputo City Council will implement the Infrastructure Company with the aim of focussing strategically and effectively on urban infrastructure,’ he said.
The new company’s main mission will be to guarantee the quality of the roads and improve mobility for all. According to Manhique, the creation of this entity will also allow for greater rigour in the supervision of public works, combating cases of contractors abandoning projects or not completing work as planned. ‘Some contractors, when they finish the job, don’t leave the place as it was. We need to be more demanding and we’re going to be strict in the coming period. Our city mustn’t go on like this, there must be rules,’ he warned.
Another objective of the new company is to reduce costs when contracting services for the rehabilitation of the city. ‘If a project costs five contracts and, when our company carries it out, we can reduce it to two, that means we can channel the resources saved into other activities,’ explained the mayor.
During the balance sheet, Manhique highlighted the work carried out by the Municipal Sanitation Company during the current rainy season, with emphasis on rainwater drainage in neighbourhoods such as Hulene B, Magoanine A, B and C. Other works mentioned include the construction of the Minguene drainage ditch, the rehabilitation of pavements in the urban districts of Ka Maxaquene and Ka Mubukwana, and the railway unloader at Julius Nyerere Ravine.
The president of the Municipal Council also recalled advances such as the improvement of the road and the installation of the collector in the 25 de Junho neighbourhood (Choupal), the construction of the Rainwater Drainage System in Rua da Mafurreira, in the Zimpeto neighbourhood, and the expansion and rehabilitation of the Wastewater Treatment Plant (ETAR) in Infulene.
Manhique believes that these interventions represent a ‘boom’ in infrastructure rehabilitation, especially in the road sector, with works combined with drainage systems. He also highlighted ongoing projects, such as the paving of Rua da Subida de Chamissava up to the Marinha Health Centre, in the Ka Tembe municipal district.
The mayor expressed his confidence that these improvements will have a positive impact on the lives of residents, facilitating mobility, improving the urban environment and guaranteeing more efficient access to basic services in Maputo city.
