Maputo, Mozambique, 30 Jan – Work on building the bridge over the Zambeze river in Mozambique, carried out by Portuguese companies Mota-Engil and Soares da Costa, which was suspended in January due to torrential rains, is expected to begin again this week officials said in Maputo.

Work was suspended at the beginning of January due to the increased current of the river, which led to the ground becoming saturated and work on building the foundation being suspended.

The representative of the Mozambican government in building the bridge, Elias Paulo, said that if the rain continued to slow, work would begin again and added that the time that had been lost was not critical.

Work on building the bridge began on October 27 and Paulo said that delays caused by the rain would not affect the deadline for concluding the work, of March 2009.

The bridge, which will take 36 months to be built, is 2.3 kilometers long and 16 meters wide and will cost 67 million euros, which are provided by the European Union (25 million), Sweden (21 million) and Italy (20 million).

Japan has also provided US$9 million for complementary work, including re-housing of people that have had to be moved from the area, as well as environmental impact studies. (macauhub)