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Companies in the construction sector should consider exploiting opportunities along Mozambique’s Nacala corridor – a railway and port project linking the coal deposits in the Tete Province (situated in the west of the country) with the north-eastern port city of Nacala.

According to the African Development Bank (AfDB), small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) should take advantage of the business opportunities provided by infrastructure projects associated with the Nacala corridor. The AfDB recently approved a US$1m grant to improve the competitiveness of local construction-related companies.

The Nacala corridor comprises the building and rehabilitation of a 912km railway from the Moatize coal mine in Tete, through the southern part of Malawi, to a new coal port terminal in Nacala-a-Velha. The railway will also be used to move general freight and passengers destined for Zambia and Malawi.

“The port of Nacala in the north of Mozambique unlocks the economic potential of northern Mozambique, and offers an economic supply corridor to neighbouring landlocked countries,” commented Drikus Kotze, general manager of Engen Petroleum’s international business division, in an earlier statement announcing that the company has appointed a new distributor in Nacala.