Mozambique: CFM needs US$10 million to repair damaged infrastructure – O País

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Mozambique: CFM needs US$10 million to repair damaged infrastructure – O País

3:01 CAT | 10 Jan 2025

File photo:MZNews

Ports and Railways of Mozambique (CFM) needs around US$10 million (638 million meticais), to repair infrastructure damaged during the post-election protests, Chairman of the Board of Directors, Agostinho Langa, has said.

The repair of railway infrastructure includes the reconstruction of more than 200 metres of vandalised railway line, electronic equipment and railway stations, with Matola Gare and Tenga in Maputo province among the areas which suffered the most damage.

Speaking recently during the President of the Republic’s visit to Ressano Garcia, Agostinho Langa said that it was possible that this estimate could rise, as damage assessment was still ongoing.

“In addition to the line we had installed, we now have to restore the Tenga station, which was set on fire – and the communication system was also vandalized – as well as the Matola Gare station, which, fortunately, was only vandalized, but they burned everything around it,” Langa explained.

During the post-election unrest, protesters set fire to the Catema stations on the Sene line, as well as vandalizing the vacation lines along some of the southern and central areas.

Langa said rehabilitating the railway lines was not a difficult task, requiring only two days of calm.

“As for the stations, we will need some time, because there is also electronic equipment that was burned and, at some point, it will be necessary to import it to restore, for example, the entire weighbridge system in Ressano Garcia. Unlike the railway lines, restoring the railway stations will not be an easy task, as it is subject to restrictions,” he added. The equipment for the aforementioned restorations would have to be imported from South Africa.

Langa said that, despite the vandalism, the circulation of trains had not been affected, and the company would continue to honour its responsibility for transporting people and goods.

“This vandalism does not impede the circulation of trains, although there is a lack of security, because we will be transporting wagons with some weight, and this can jeopardize the circulation of trains,” he reassured.

Agostinho Langa explained that there are times when the company is forced to stop the circulation of means of transport to safeguard public safety as was the case this Wednesday, when all train trips were cancelled due to the occurrence of heavy rains in the southern region of the country.

CFM stresses the importance of uninterrupted train circulation and of maintaining and affordable prices.

At the moment, the company is covering 85% of the cost of the ticket, with passengers paying only 15%, Langa said.

“We practically operate the passenger train at a cost equivalent to 15% of what the ticket should cost. Therefore, we are doing it almost for free, compared to semi-public passenger transport, which costs five times more than the train ticket,” he noted.

Every year, Caminhos de Ferro de Moçambique transports seven million people and more than 26.6 thousand net tons of cargo.

Source: O País