The Province of Zambézia, in the centre of the country, will be the main target of the 500 million dollars made available by the US agency Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) in Mozambique, whose financing agreement will be signed on 21 September in Washington, in the presence of the head of state, Filipe Nyusi.
According to information from the MCC consulted by Lusa on Friday 8 September, a new bridge over the Licungo River will be built in the province, replacing the current crossing, which is almost 80 years old, and the infrastructure will serve to divert traffic from the city of Mocuba to a new location via a 16-kilometre bypass.
Of the total 500 million dollars, the MCC is allocating 310.5 million dollars to Connectivity and Rural Transport (CTR) projects, including the bridge over the Licungo river and the construction of the Mocuba bypass, a project valued at 201 million dollars.
In June, the MCC board of directors approved a 500 million dollar programme for the Mozambique Coastal Connectivity and Resilience Compact, an investment designed to promote economic opportunities and reduce global poverty.
The approval follows the memorandum signed with the government in January and “reaffirms MCC’s commitment to directly addressing constraints to economic growth through innovative solutions”, the organisation said in a statement.
This is MCC’s second pact with Mozambique, following another worth 506.9 million dollars, concluded in 2013, which focused on water supply and sanitation and land ownership, transport and agriculture issues.
This time, 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.
The MCC is an agency funded by the US government that provides grants for a certain period of time to developing countries.
