President Daniel Chapo on Wednesday, 2 July, described the two new pumping stations on the Beira-Feruka pipeline as a 'true economic artery' between Mozambique and Zimbabwe, calling for greater investment in infrastructure to deepen economic and energy integration across southern Africa, according to the Lusa news agency.
Chapo was speaking in Nhamatanda, Sofala province, at the groundbreaking ceremony for the two stations, which will be installed in Sofala and Manica provinces and are scheduled for completion by the end of 2027. The project, led by the Companhia do Pipeline Moçambique-Zimbabué (CPMZ), is expected to increase the pipeline's capacity by 67%, to five million cubic metres per year.
"This pipeline transports fuel, but it also transports cooperation, trust and interdependence between our countries and peoples. It is therefore a true economic artery linking Mozambique to Zimbabwe, which contributes to the energy security of our region," Chapo said.
The president described the expansion as a "new leap" in fuel transport and said it forms part of a broader logistics and energy integration strategy between the two countries. The Beira-Feruka pipeline, which stretches 294 kilometres, connects the Port of Beira to Zimbabwe and forms a key component of the Beira Corridor.
"We want to progressively transform our national corridors from simple transit corridors into true development corridors. Industrialisation, trade, regional integration — these are our visions," Chapo said.
The head of state argued that industries, logistics and processing centres, special economic zones, industrial free zones, small and medium enterprises, and new employment opportunities should emerge along these corridors. The capacity expansion of the pipeline will be accompanied by the modernisation of the Petrozim Line, running between Feruka and Harare.
Chapo placed the project within the broader integration framework of the Southern African Development Community (SADC), arguing that regional cooperation must move beyond political aspiration toward concrete economic outcomes.
"Our political borders must not become economic borders. We will maintain administrative borders. We will maintain political borders, but we will forget economic borders because we are all brothers," he said.
The president added that countries in the region must leverage the comparative advantages of each economy to drive collective development. "We need to build a southern Africa where our countries are increasingly interconnected, where the advantages of each economy come to serve the development of the other economies in the SADC region," he declared.
Established in the second half of the 1950s under the name Companhia do Pipeline Moçambique-Rodésia, CPMZ was created to transport fuels from the Port of Beira to meet the energy needs of Zimbabwe, Malawi, and Zambia. With the new expansion, the government aims to reinforce the Beira Corridor's role in regional energy supply and economic integration.
Source: Diário Económico
Original article: https://www.diarioeconomico.co.mz/?p=536545
