The government, through the Roads Fund, has announced that it is investing 211 million meticals to rehabilitate the section of the road that links the city of Vilankulo and the region of Pambara, in Inhambane province, southern Mozambique, along National Road Number 1 (N1).
According to the company’s chairmans, Ângelo Macuácua, the work was awarded to Chinise State Construção, with a duration of one year, focusing on plugging potholes and surfacing the road.
‘The road is 20 kilometres long and its rehabilitation is extremely important, as it is a route used to transport produce to the commercial centres, as well as allowing tourists visiting the region to pass through,’ he explained.
Quoted by Radio Moçambique, the official guaranteed that the work will be carried out within the planned deadlines and that all the material used is of high quality.
In April, the Minister of Public Works, Housing and Water Resources, Carlos Mesquita, guaranteed that emergency works were already underway on some critical stretches along the N1, clarifying that the interventions were being carried out on the basis of the funds available in the state coffers.
‘Just to give you an example, on the stretch between Inchope and Gorongosa, which is approximately 70 kilometres long, the journey used to take three hours, but with the rehabilitation work, the time has dropped to 50 minutes.
Similarly, from Inchope to Caia, which is around 280 kilometres, motorists used to spend nine hours in traffic, but now it only takes five,’ he said.
The N1, the only road linking the south, centre and north of the country, has been the scene of serious road accidents, with several deaths and almost always involving public transport, a problem associated with speeding, according to the authorities, who also admit to the poor condition of the road at various points.
In April 2022, the government announced its intention to rehabilitate the N1 and, according to calculations made at the time by the Ministry of Public Works, Housing and Water Resources, the work was budgeted at 750 million dollars.
The rehabilitation, which includes the construction of a total of 13 tolls, will cover 1,300 kilometres of the 2,477 kilometres of the road.
