Maputo, Mozambique, 31 Oct – Two Chinese companies and one Portuguese company are involved in the project to rebuild the 348 kilometres of the road that links Nampula to Cuamba in Mozambique, the first phase of which has now been launched, the director general of the National Roads Administration said.

Cited by the Mozambican press, Cecílio Grachane said that the three contractors were currently building their work sites in order to start work.

The work, which is expected to cost US$267 million and be carried out over 36 months, has been split into three lots for three foreign contractors, Chinese companies China Communications Construction Company (CCCC) Group and China Henan International Cooperation Group (Chico) and Portugal’s Gabriel Couto.

As well as the Mozambican funding, construction of the Nampula/Cuamba road will also receive funding from the Japanese International Cooperation Agency  (JICA), The African Development Bank and the South Korean Export Import Bank.

The government of Japan has provided a loan of US$60 million whilst South Korea has provided US$20 million as a loan to fund the first phase of this project.

As well as being part of the Nacala corridor, the Nampula-Cuamba road is part of the Protocol for Transport, Communications and Meteorology of the Southern Africa Development Community (SADC), which aims to totally integrate the region’s infrastructure.

The Nampula/Cuamba road is also considered to be a main line for the integrated development of the northern region of the country, as it is a preferred route for transporting agricultural produce not only from the areas that the road crosses, but also some areas of the interior of the provinces of Nampula and Niassa.

The initial reconstruction project for the road had been due to begin at the end of 2007, but did not go ahead due to delays in drawing up the feasibility study, which was one of the components that the project’s financiers had set as a condition for providing funding. (macauhub)