Mozambique: Coastal protection cost tripled – Joseph Hanlon

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Mozambique: Coastal protection cost tripled – Joseph Hanlon

8:37 CAT | 27 Jun 2016

In File Club of Mozambqiue / Ematum's patrol vessels seen here docked in Maputo

In 2013 Privinvest proposed a turnkey maritime security project which a Credit Suisse document said would be sufficient to enforce an exclusive economic zone reaching 30 nautical miles out to sea. The cost would have been $372 mn, Africa Confidential reported last year (10 July 2015).

Although most details of the $2.2 bn loans are still secret, it appears that the maritime security part of the package now exceeds $1 bn. Privinvest is the main contractor in the Mozambique maritime contracts and is based in Beirut and Abu Dhabi.

Zitamar (21 June) published more details of the 2013 Credit Suisse memo. Under the proposal, for $372 mn Privinvest would have:

supplied, installed and set up six staffed radar stations and 10 unstaffed radar stations;
delivered two maritime patrol aircraft, two offshore patrol vessels, 12 interceptors and spare parts.
provided three years of satellite surveillance; and
supplied, installed and set up a central command and training centre.

The memo was for the SISE (security service) owned Proindicus, and explained that the firm would repay the loan and earn large profits selling its services to oil and gas drilling rigs, as well as by charging fishing boats and cargo ships passing through the Mozambique channel.

By: Joseph Hanlon

Source: News reports & clippings