US$ 74.9M Highway upgrade to connect Mozambique and Tanzania
The African Development Bank (AfDB) approved US$ 71.8M grant and USD 3.1M loan to the Government of Mozambique for the construction of a 70km asphalt road section in Northern Mozambique to improve connectivity with Tanzania. This road segment represents a missing link on the transport corridor between Mozambique and Tanzania.
AfDB will finance the paving of the road for Phase I – a 70km road section from Negomano to Mueda, which is located adjacent to the Ruvuma River, the natural frontier with Tanzania. The section ends in the locality of Roma. The improvement of the road will reduce the travel time from three hours to one hour between the two localities. Phase 2 planned to start in 2019 will connect Roma to Mueda, and includes the construction of a one-stop border post.
The project is key for traders and road users, who transport goods between Tanzania and Mozambique who will benefit from more direct and shorter journeys to the ports of Pemba in Mozambique and Mtwara in Tanzania. The new road will extend the paved road recently built on the Tanzanian side of the border and financed by AfDB.
Under the project, a masterplan will be developed for transport infrastructure and connectivity for the Northern regions of Mozambique involving the provinces of Niassa, Cabo Delgado and Nampula. This Masterplan will target various sub-sectors: maritime, railways, roads and bridges, and to update existing national plans in light of anticipated major economic transformation of the Northern region.
