Now Reading
Millennium Challenge: Tender to Build Bridge in Zambezia to Be Launched in January 2025

Millennium Challenge: Tender to Build Bridge in Zambezia to Be Launched in January 2025

The launch of a tender for the construction of a bridge over the Licungo River and a ring road in Zambezia province, in the centre of the country, is scheduled for the end of January 2025. The government is counting on funding of 500 million dollars (31.6 billion meticals) from the US agency Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) to complete the project.

‘At issue is the construction of a new bridge and ring road on National Road Number 1 (N1) crossing the Licungo River near Mocuba. The existing bridge there is congested, has exceeded its useful life and is no longer fit for purpose. It has been damaged twice by floods since it was built in the 1940s, and there are no practical alternatives for heavy lorries to cross the Licungo River when it is damaged by floods,’ explained a document mentioned by Lusa.

According to the publication, the project includes the construction of a new 1,800 metre long bridge, around 5,000 metres downstream from the current crossing, as well as 16 kilometres of new access road to link the bridge to the N1.

‘The province of Zambezia, Mozambique’s second most populous, known for its tea plantations, mangrove swamps and turquoise beaches, will be the focus of the new 500 million dollar project. The financing, called Compact II, was signed on 20 September 2023 on Capitol Hill in Washington, in the presence of the Mozambican head of state, Filipe Nyusi,’ he said.

MCC is an external support agency funded by the US government, which provides subsidies to developing countries. Last July, the board of directors announced this funding compact, called the Mozambique Coastal Connectivity and Resilience Compact, the second since 2007.

In this second compact, the focus is on improving transport networks in rural areas, encouraging commercial agriculture through political and fiscal reforms and improving coastal livelihoods through climate resilience initiatives.

Overall, the MCC allocates 310.5 million dollars to Rural Connectivity and Transport (CTR) projects, including the bridge over the Licungo River and the construction of the Mocuba bypass, a project valued at 201 million dollars. Almost 83.5 million dollars are earmarked for the construction of rural roads and 11 million dollars for road maintenance.

With regard to the Reforms and Investment in Agriculture Projects (PRIA) component, 30 million dollars have been allocated, half of which for the agricultural investment tax reform package and the other half for setting up the Commercial Aggregation Platform in Zambezia province.

See Also

The third structural component, worth 100 million dollars, is aimed at Coastal Livelihood and Climate Resilience (CLCR) projects to strengthen productivity, ‘through sustainable increases in fish and shellfish harvesting and through non-extractive activities’, but also using ‘sustainable ecosystem benefits, such as carbon credits and coastal protection benefits.’

SUBSCRIBE TO GET OUR NEWSLETTERS:

Scroll To Top

We have detected that you are using AdBlock Plus or other adblocking software which is causing you to not be able to view 360 Mozambique in its entirety.

Please add www.360mozambique.com to your adblocker’s whitelist or disable it by refreshing afterwards so you can view the site.