Mozambique: ANE prepares concession of five national roads to private operators

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Mozambique: ANE prepares concession of five national roads to private operators

2:56 CAT | 14 Aug 2019

File photo: Noticias

Five national roads will soon be concessioned to private operators, in a measure aimed at creating permanent maintenance capacity and consequently improving road safety and usability.

Included in this project are the 185 kilometre-long Marracuene-Xai-Xai stretch of the EN1; 65.9 km of the EN2 Matola-Boane-Namaacha stretch; 31 km of the EN3 from Impaputo to Goba; the Nampula- Namialo- Lúrio- Metoro on the EN1: and the Nacala to Namialo road, on the EN12.

The National Roads Administration (ANE) has announced the opening of a public tender for the selection of domestic or foreign firms with experience in the field, with which 30-year contracts must be signed.

ANE did not advance the type of interventions that are intended under this tender, but Noticias has learned that the works may include, besides rehabilitation, the modernisation of the concessioned roads and the consequent installation of tolls for the collection of fees for the use of these roads.

So far, the management of EN1 and almost the entire national road network is guaranteed by the government via the ANE, which, faced with a shortage of funds, often fails to meet the recommended maintenance schedule, which contributes to the poor conditions of many of the roads.

The user-pays policy, implemented through concessions, aims to address the government’s difficulties in ensuring timely and regular road maintenance, bringing them up to defined standards of full and safe transitability.

On a visit to the EN4 last year, Minister of Public Works, Housing and Water Resources João Machatine acknowledged the highway linking Maputo and South Africa as an example of a concession where all aspects of work were completed on schedule.

The EN4 was awarded to Trans African Concessions (TRAC) for 30 years in May 1997. The entity supported its construction, guarantees the maintenance of the road and keeps the revenues generated by the collection of tolls.

TRAC signed a BOT (Build Operate and Transfer) contract with the Mozambican state, including the construction and operation of the road and its transfer of ownership to the Mozambican state when the contract expires in 2027.

Source: Noticias