Maputo, Mozambique, 20 Oct – National road number 1 (EN1) in Mozambique linking Maputo, in the south, to Pemba, in the north is scheduled to be completely rebuilt by 2012, the chairman of the national roads fund, Francisco Pereira said.

In an interview with the newspaper, Pereira said that rebuilding of the road, which is already underway in some sections, is part of a government plan to improve the national road grid.

Construction of the bridge over the Zambezi river between Caia, in Sofala province, and Chimuara, in Zambézia province, is one stage of this ambitious plan, said the chairman of the Road Fund.

EN1, which stretches over more than 2,500 kilometres, is the main road in the country and the existing plan, according to Pereira, aims to turn it into a good quality road.

“Within three years it will be possible, for example, to set off from Maputo in the car and go to Pemba without worrying about the problem of the road, because it will be entirely asphalted and will be of good quality. This is a feeling of freedom that we have not had for a long time,” he said.

Alongside this plan the roads sector will also intervene in other important roads in the national road network, such as those linking Nacala and Nampula, Cuamba and Lichinga, the latter due to being next year, and Lichinga -Montepuez.

Mozambique’s national road network totals some 30,000 kilometres, of which less than 10,000 are paved. (macauhub)