Mozambique: Nyusi inaugurates road from Nampula to Nametil

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Mozambique: Nyusi inaugurates road from Nampula to Nametil

7:15 CAT | 31 Aug 2020

Photo: Presidency of the Republic

Mozambican President Filipe Nyusi on Friday inaugurated the 70.6 kilometre tarred road between the northern city of Nampula and Nametil, the capital of Mogovolas district, in the south of Nampula province.

Speaking to road workers and the local population at Nametil, Nyusi said the tarred road will drive the development of the region in agriculture, mining, tourism and fisheries.

Before the road was paved, the journey time between Nampula and Nametil was two and a half hours, but it has now been reduced to less than an hour.

Work on the road lasted from December 2017 to September 2020. It is part of National Highway N104, which runs from Nampula to the coastal towns of Angoche and Moma.

“This is a road of the present and the future, a road of development”, said Nyusi. It ran through areas rich in agricultural products, including rice and cashew nuts, and would facilitate the transport of fisheries produce from the coast. It would also allow easier access to the beaches of Angoche “and thus tourism will also develop”.

“Sometimes, when we build more roads, our partners ask if there will be any traffic on these roads”, said the President. That would all depend on productive activities in the regions through which the road passes.

“The road cannot just be for transporting people. It must also move goods from this region”, he insisted. “We shall increase production so that the road becomes worthwhile. This means maintaining this road, and financing the construction of other roads”.

The work on the Nampula-Nametil stretch cost 41.5 million dollars, and was largely financed by South Korea. The government was now in negotiation with the Korean authorities for the next stage, so that the road could be rehabilitated all the way to Angoche and Moma. “There’s light at the end of the tunnel”, Nyusi promised his audience.

“Our governance is not one of promises that cannot be honoured”, he continued. “So for now we just say there is a light at the end of the tunnel. But we are convinced we shall not allow the road to stop here. It will continue, since our style is work, work and work”.

Nyusi urged the road’s users not to treat it like a race track. “We didn’t build the road to kill any Mozambicans”, he said. “We want it to facilitate and prolong lives, so we ask that the rules of road traffic be observed”.

The South Korean ambassador, Sun-jun Yeo, told the ceremony he hopes the road will contribute to the development of industry and trade in the Mozambican interior. He said that, since diplomatic relations were established in 1993, South Korea has financed projects in Mozambique to the value of 450 million US dollars.

“I am deeply grateful that Mozambique has entrusted to us the construction of such an important road”, said the ambassador. “The mission has been accomplished efficiently within the agreed time frame, and it will be a sign of the cooperation between our two countries”.

Source: AIM