President Nyusi calls on US business people to invest in infrastructure and energy

Login

Register

President Nyusi calls on US business people to invest in infrastructure and energy

7:52 CAT | 21 Sep 2016

Noticias / President Filipe Nyusi also met the Secretary-General of the Commonwealth, Baroness Patricia Scotland

Sustain economic growth in Mozambique is currently facing major challenges in the field of power generation and infrastructure, two windows of opportunity for American investment according to President Nyusi.

Speaking at a dinner hosted by the Business Council for International Understanding, a US-based association promoting trade and diplomacy and facilitating dialogue between political leaders and the world business people, President Nyusi invited the American business people to invest in those sectors in Mozambique.

The president said that more than 80 percent of the Mozambican population is dependent on small scale renewable energy sources and has no access to the national grid. He said that although the country had large and diverse energy resources, most of them remain unexploited.

To reverse this scenario, five hydro-electric power projects are currently in development. These include the Mpanda Nkua dam in Tete province, which will contribute 1.5 GW to the network, raising national capacity to 4.5 GW.

To demonstrate the efforts being made in the sector, President Nyusi noted that, of the US$23 billion invested up to last year in development projects, 27 percent had been allocated to the energy sector.

President Nyusi added that the country’s natural resources include coal, iron, gold, bauxite, graphite, marble, as well as rare and important minerals such as tantalite and heavy sands. He again stressed the need to add value to these resources in order to take full advantage of growing markets on the continent and in the emerging economies of the south, such as China, Brazil and India.

As to infrastructure projects which leverage development, President Nyusi said that the country’s transport logistics framework was establishing development corridors linking major ports, resulting in expanded mining activity and the growth of “industrial parks”.

He noted that one infrastructure solution was the public-private partnership, which had improved the management of Maputo, Beira and Nacala ports and the facilitated construction of a road connecting the capital, Maputo and the industrial zone and mining of Witbank in neighbouring South Africa.

The president also spoke of his commitment to agriculture, noting that the need to increase production and productivity and diversify the sector, both goals which will require technological innovation and infrastructure development, particularly in rural areas.

The issue of infrastructure and the lack of reliable energy have been identified by US investors as major challenges and the cause of weak trade with African countries, including Mozambique. They say, for example, that within the current framework it is impossible to manufacture, store and transport products to markets.

The head of state also said that the country was open for investment in areas such as agri-business, tourism, fishing, banking and insurance, among others.

Yesterday, President Nyusi met the Secretary-General of the Commonwealth, Baroness Patricia Scotland, who is also in New York to take part in the UN general meeting.

Source: Noticias