Mozambique: N4 to restart charging toll fees on Thursday – concessionaire

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Mozambique: N4 to restart charging toll fees on Thursday – concessionaire

12:12 CAT | 22 Jan 2025

Image: Miramar

The South African company TRAC, concessionaire of the N4 highway between Maputo and the Ressano Garcia border, announced today that it will restart charging tolls on that road on Thursday, after being suspended in recent weeks in the wake of post-election protests.

The information is contained in an announcement published today by Trans African Concessions (TRAC), which operates the highway connecting Tshwane, Gauteng (in South Africa) and the port of Maputo in (Mozambique) via the Ressano Garcia border, which was also closed at various times in recent months due to post-election protests.

TRAC recalls that it operates the N4, considered the best highway in Mozambique, “under a concession agreement signed with the road agencies of South Africa and Mozambique”, and that this road is “a vital part of the Maputo Corridor Development Plan, boosting regional economic growth and connectivity”, which ensures the export of South African minerals along the Mozambican coast.

“Toll fees finance the construction, modernisation and maintenance of roads, ensuring international standards,” reads the announcement.

In December, during the post-election protests in Mozambique, former presidential candidate Venâncio Mondlane called for the non-payment of tolls in the country, and after the destruction and vandalisation of some toll booths, collection was suspended, including on the N4.

In a document published on Tuesday containing 30 demands Venâncio Mondlane, who does not recognize the official results of the general elections of October 9, once again highlighted the suspension of tolls throughout the country.

“On the N4, the tolls, given their age, have fulfilled the time of profitability in relation to the investment made,” Mondlane reasons, also alleging that on several toll roads in the country “there was no public consultation” and “the principle of the alternative route was not respected”.

“Many of the roads are in a disastrous state, which offends the idea of benefiting from services,” Mondlane also notes.

The post-election protests in Mozambique, called by Venâncio Mondlane, have since October 21 caused 314 deaths and more than 600 shootings, according to organizations on the ground, such as the electoral platform Decide, in addition to violent clashes with the police, looting and destruction of public and private property.

Daniel Chapo, presidential candidate supported by the Mozambique Liberation Front (Frelimo, in power), was declared the winner of the October 9 elections and took office as the fifth President of the Republic on January 15.

A @TRACN4route da Portagem de #Maputo, na estrada nacional número 4, que liga as cidade de Maputo e #Matola, anuncia que as cobranças de tarifas vão reiniciar na quinta-feira. Refira-se que estão suspensas no contexto das manifestações contra os resultados eleitorais. #Moçambique pic.twitter.com/53rzSKMzWK

— Alexandre Nhampossa (@AllexandreMZ) January 22, 2025