João Feijó, a researcher at the Observatório do Meio Rural (OMR), has warned that the Mozambique LNG project, led by TotalEnergies, is generating limited economic impact in Cabo Delgado province, despite the expectations built around the US$24 billion investment.
According to Lusa, Feijó regards the decision to hold the initial phase of the Mozambique LNG Academy in Matola, in Maputo province, as a sign of 'disregard' by the central government towards communities in the north of the country — and one that risks deepening social discontent in Cabo Delgado.
'This is a small indicator of the disregard of the central government towards the populations of the north of the country,' Feijó said.
His remarks follow criticism from the Cabo Delgado Civil Society Organisations Forum (Focade) and the Provincial Business Council (CEP), both of which objected to the decision to conduct initial training for 260 young people selected for the natural gas industry at a facility in Matola.
Both organisations argued that the training should have taken place in Cabo Delgado, the province where the TotalEnergies-led project is located. The training site sits approximately 2,300 kilometres from the gas production zone.
Feijó said the controversy must be understood in the context of the expectations surrounding the Mozambique LNG project, located in Afungi in the Palma district, and the limited economic benefits felt by local communities and businesses.
'Local businesses were already quite frustrated in their expectations, and when they learn of this news about the training centre opening in Maputo, they are naturally very discontented,' he said.
According to the researcher, the way the project is structured restricts the movement of people and income through Cabo Delgado's economy, owing to the model adopted for worker transport and operational supply chains.
'What we are seeing is that in Afungi, the decision taken was to ensure supply exclusively by sea and the arrival of workers by air. This greatly limits the economic impact of the project at the local level,' he explained.
'They arrive in Afungi, stay on the project site and do not leave. They do not come to the district town for anything,' he added.
Feijó said this reality contrasts sharply with the economic growth expectations that led several Palma residents to invest in building annexes, accommodation, and other businesses in anticipation of the activity expected from the project's implementation.
'What one notices is that there are many houses where annexes were built that are now completely empty. The movement here in the district town is very limited. It does not even seem as though a US$24 billion project is being executed 10 or 15 kilometres away,' he said.
The researcher acknowledged that training a few dozen or a few hundred young people would not be sufficient to transform the province's economy, pointing to the extractive industry's limited capacity to generate employment.
He nevertheless argued that the transfer of training activities to the south of the country carries significant symbolic weight and 'remains yet another reason to fuel discontent in the north.'
Feijó also warned that social dissatisfaction in Cabo Delgado is not confined to the armed insurgency, identifying other tensions linked to youth unemployment, artisanal mining, and community groups, any of which could evolve into protest movements.
Despite his criticisms, the researcher acknowledged that the promoters of Mozambique LNG are primarily focused on protecting investor interests. 'Their social compact is not with the population — it is with the investors. Their objective is to produce, export, and generate profits,' he said.
He argued that it falls to the Mozambican state, itself a project partner, to establish mechanisms that ensure a more equitable distribution of the benefits derived from gas extraction.
Focade expressed 'concern and repudiation' over the decision to hold the first phase of the Mozambique LNG Academy in Matola, reiterating that training should take place in Cabo Delgado.
Mamudo Irache, president of the Cabo Delgado Provincial Business Council, described the situation as an 'absolute economic exclusion' of the province, arguing that local institutions such as the Pemba Industrial School, or new infrastructure to be established in Palma, should benefit from investments earmarked for professional training in the oil and gas sector.
Source: Diário Económico
Original article: https://www.diarioeconomico.co.mz/2026/08/04/oilgas/cabo-delgado-investigador-do-omr-alerta-para-fraco-impacto-local-do-projecto-de-gas/
