The Mozambican government says it is in the process of setting up a development fund exclusively to finance the construction of infrastructure, especially roads and railways.
The information was announced this Tuesday (29) in Maputo by the executive director of the Institute for the Management of State Holdings (IGEPE), Raimundo Matule, during an event that discussed the financing of infrastructure and the role of the State Business Sector (SEE), as part of the 58th edition of the Maputo International Fair – FACIM 2023.
The fund, which has the strong involvement of the National Investment Bank (BNI), essentially aims to induce growth in the economy and reduce the differences in the level of development between the provinces.
According to Matule, in order to ensure that BNI is in a position to respond to the needs of the fund’s operationalisation, the process of its recapitalisation is underway.
“For the time being, the country’s three major infrastructure axes have already been defined, with the emphasis on removing or reducing the flow of lorries on National Road Number 4 (N4), so that cargo can move to the railway,” stressed the IGEPE executive director, adding that it is “in this context that the company Caminhos de Ferro de Moçambique (CFM) is investing in the Ressano Garcia line”.
Likewise, the rehabilitation of the Machipanda railway line, in the centre of the country, and others that need work to facilitate the connection between production centres and the market, are being finalised.
For his part, BNI economist Edson Maquinhane said that Mozambique is investing 10 per cent of its Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in strategic infrastructure, instead of the 20 per cent set.
For Maquinhane, the differences in development between the provinces may reflect poor investment in infrastructure, which limits the flow of products.
As such, the economist believes that the state business sector has an important role to play in providing infrastructure, not least because, as he suggested, the BNI is available to help mobilise funding on the domestic and international markets.
