The Northern Development Corridor (CDN) company in Mozambique has signed a five-year lease contract with South Africa’s GPR Leasing Africa under which it will receive 100 grain hopper waggons, GPR said.

The CDN is a project that encompasses the northern region of Mozambique, Malawi and Zambia, and is focused on recovery and commercial exploration of the port of Nacala, the railway system in northern Mozambique and in Malawi.

In the statement released, GPR Leasing Africa said the lease followed an agreement between CDN and Bakhresa Malawi Limited, a company from Malawi that is a subsidiary of the Bakhresa Milling Group, which has a grain terminal in Nacala and milling and packing facilities in Malawi.

The waggons will be manufactured and purchased from South African company Galison Manufacturing, which has built and refurbished railway trucks and other rolling stock for the last 20 years.

The contract with the CDN was signed in mid-October 2015 and the first boxcars will be delivered this month. The complete order of 100 grain hopper waggons is due to be delivered to the Mozambican company by the end of the year.

GPR Leasing Africa is a partnership between Grindrod Freight Services, of the Grindrod group and the Pembani Remgro Infrastructure Fund, created to finance the railway companies of the African continent. (macauhub/MZ)