Maputo — The publicly owned Ports and Railway Company (CFM) on Wednesday started to replace tracks on the railway line connecting the Mozambican port city of Beira to Machipanda, on the border with landlocked Zimbabwe, as part of a 200 million US dollar investment, according to a report in Friday’s issue of the Maputo daily “Noticias”.
Speaking in Dondo district, in the central province of Sofala, where the launch ceremony was held, the Chairperson of the CFM Board, Miguel Matabel, pledged that the railroad rehabilitation, which began in late 2020, will be completed in 2022.
“We would like to entreat everyone to look at the project as a common benefit to all Mozambicans and avoid the theft of railway equipment, because such a stance jeopardises its development,” Matabel said.
At the ceremony, he explained that, unlike the old tracks which can bear up to 40 kilos per metre, the new ones can take up to 45 kilos, thus boosting production and productivity.
The work underway consists of welding the ends of seven 18 metre tracks to form a single track that is 126 metres long. Thus will form a more robust line, in obedience to international standards, allowing it to carry heavier cargo trains.
“We were using 60 tonne wagons, but from now on will use 80 tonne wagons”, said Matabel, describing the work as crucial to improving the capacity of the line.
He said the Covid-19 pandemic has had a negative impact on the work, as the company recorded a delay in the delivery of the equipment from Europe and Asia, which should have arrived by March last year.