Mozambique: China hands over 20,000sqm cultural centre in Maputo

Login

Register

http://www.clubofmozambique.com/

Mozambique: China hands over 20,000sqm cultural centre in Maputo

2:32 CAT | 28 Sep 2023

Screen grab: Eventos LIVE tv

The President of Mozambique, Filipe Nyusi, this Thursday in Maputo inaugurates the Mozambique China Cultural Centre, at 20,000 square metres the second largest of its kind built by Chinese contractors in Africa.

According to the Mozambican Ministry of Culture and Tourism, this centre boasts rooms for theatre, musical shows and corporate events, “with a highlight on the 1,500 seat auditorium”, as well as exhibition halls and studios for arts and crafts and rehearsal rooms for music and dance.

The Ministry adds that this is a “key project” within the scope of cultural cooperation between the two countries, which “will greatly contribute to the promotion and development of cultural exhibition and dissemination, as well as to the promotion of cultural creative industries from all over the country and the world”.

The project, whose opening was scheduled for 2021 but delayed by the Covid-19 pandemic, was built by China on the main campus of Eduardo Mondlane University in Maputo, following the signing in 2015 of an agreement under which China financed the construction to the amount of US$50 million (€47.6 million).

The new cultural centre is expected to “ensure employment and income for those involved in the arts and culture, namely through the monetization of the space and, equally, making the city of Maputo more attractive for business tourism events”, the ministry adds.

After the inauguration ceremony led by President Nyusi, the new Mozambique China Cultural Centre will from Friday host “various artistic events” celebrating the 90th anniversary of the birth of former Mozambican president Samora Machel (September 29, 1933), who died on October 19, 1986, with an emphasis on arts and crafts exhibitions, gastronomy and the “Samora Machel Cinema Cycle”, as well as various other shows and debates.

Source: Lusa