The MozambicanPresident, Filipe Nyusi, revealed on Wednesday 14 August that part of the Port of Nacala, located in Nampula province, northern Mozambican, could be managed in the near future by the Malawian government, with a view to facilitating commercial transactions in that country.
He said that the intention has existed since the infrastructure was reopened in October 2023, and that the only thing awaiting is the signing of the terms of commitment for the implementation of the activities.
‘The Port of Nacala has a major impact on the economy of both countries, it has affordable prices and can handle large quantities of cargo. It is currently equipped with modern tools and has a high standard of security,’ he said.
The head of state emphasised that ‘an important space in the port has been made available to Malawi, which can serve as a specific terminal for that country’s goods’.
Last year, Malawi assumedthat it was one of the biggest users of the Port of Nacala, a crucial infrastructure for implementing development projects and facilitating local trade.
At the time, the principal secretary of Malawi’s Ministry of Transport and Public Works, Madalo Nhambose, argued that the development was the safest bet for the import and export of commercial products, when compared to the ports of Dar es Salaam in Tanzania and Durban in South Africa, in terms of distance, cost and benefit.
The rehabilitation of the infrastructure cost more than 250 million euros, financed by the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA). The public company Portos e Caminhos-de-Ferro de Moçambique (CFM) took over management of the port in January 2020, when the concession to Corredor de Desenvolvimento do Norte (CDN), a public limited company that had been operating the infrastructure since 2005, ended.
