The Cuchamano border post, located in Changara district, Tete province, is consolidating its position as an important regional logistics hub, driven by investments from small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) supported by the Conecta Negócios project, funded by the Government through the Ministry of Finance with support from the World Bank.
According to the Mozambique News Agency (AIM), among the ongoing investments is the construction of a logistics centre by CLS Grupo Logistic near the Cuchamano border post, one of the main entry and exit points for goods between Mozambique and several Southern African countries, including Zimbabwe, South Africa, Zambia, and Malawi.
The project comes at a time when the Beira Corridor is benefiting from investments exceeding 400 million US dollars aimed at expanding port infrastructure, improving rail and road links, and building logistics platforms, strengthening Mozambique’s position as a strategic trade corridor for regional commerce.
According to CLS Grupo Logistic director Nelson Ambrósio Tsukane, the new centre was designed to respond to the growing flow of trucks crossing the border daily.
“We are building a truck parking facility, especially for those crossing the border between Mozambique and Zimbabwe. This will be a place to wait for border procedures, carry out cargo transfers, and perform other logistics operations,” he explained.
The infrastructure will have capacity for around 100 trucks and is expected to mainly support the transport of mineral samples and other cargo linked to major mining projects operating in Tete province, including multinationals Vulcan and Jindal.
According to Tsukane, the logistics centre will help reduce operational constraints and improve transport efficiency and the flow of goods.
“We have contracts with some mining companies. The trucks transport samples to laboratories in South Africa and other countries. This park will facilitate border logistics and reduce constraints associated with customs procedures,” he added.
The strategic importance of Cuchamano extends beyond Mozambique’s borders, serving as a link to several Southern African trade corridors and contributing to regional economic integration.
The Conecta Negócios project specifically aims to strengthen the capacity of national SMEs to respond to opportunities generated by large investments in sectors such as mining, energy, logistics, and agribusiness.
According to private sector development specialist Joel Sauane, the funding provided under the programme aims to create more competitive companies capable of supplying goods and services to megaprojects.
“This financing will leverage investments by our SMEs so they can meet the needs of megaprojects,” he said.
In this first phase, the programme financed 26 companies in the provinces of Tete, Nampula, and Cabo Delgado, amounting to approximately 560 million meticais in total.
In Tete province alone, eight companies received around 176 million meticais for investments in logistics, transport, agribusiness, catering, and service provision.
The programme has also supported the training of more than 7,200 microenterprises across the three provinces, including 1,723 in Tete, in areas such as entrepreneurship, financial management, green competitiveness, gender inclusion, and digital marketing.
The strengthening of local business capacity is particularly relevant at a time when the Government has recently approved international tenders for the modernisation of the Calómuè and Zóbuè border posts, also in Tete province, through public-private partnerships.
The initiative aims to improve the flow of goods and passengers along the Beira and Nacala corridors, strengthening Mozambique’s role as a regional logistics platform and creating new opportunities for national companies.
Source: Diário Económico
