The Minister of Public Works, Housing and Water Resources, Carlos Mesquita, guaranteed on Tuesday 2 April that emergency works are already underway on some critical sections along the National Road Number 1 (N1).
According to the government official, the work is being carried out using the funds available in the state coffers, emphasising that some of the roads have been completely improved and are in full condition to make mobility more flexible.
“Just to give you an example, on the stretch that links Inchope to Gorongosa, which is approximately 70 kilometres long, the journey used to take three hours, but with the rehabilitation work, the time has been reduced 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.
Last month, the government announced that it was mobilising funds from the Chinese government to finance the rehabilitation and expansion of the N1, specifically the Marracuene-Xai-Xai stretch.
At the time, Carlos Mesquita explained that 150 million dollars (9.4 billion meticals) would be needed to carry out the work, including the rehabilitation of the bridges along the stretch, adding that it was also intended to rehabilitate and widen the two carriageways over a length of around 190 kilometres.
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 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.
