The road to Nacala

Thursday, 13 May 2010 09:05

The Nacala Development Corridor will be a shot in the arm for Mozambique, Malawi and Zambia

From the palm-swaying beaches of Mozambique to the tranquil shores of Lake Malawi, southern Africa has some of the most spectacular landscapes in the world. However, put together a group of travellers, truckers or traders and sooner or later the conversation will turn not to the spectacular views but the state of the roads. Drivers complain about regular vehicle breakdowns, and fleet managers about the high costs of maintaining those vehicles. Businesspeople bemoan extortionate tariffs and import duties, while humble traders battle to get their goods to market.

Inefficient and costly transport in the southern African region remains a major impediment to economic growth. Plans to overhaul transport systems are high on the agenda of both the Southern African Development Community (SADC), the African Union and the New Partnership for Africa’s Development (Nepad).

For the most part, these plans take the form of spatial development initiatives such as the Nacala Corridor, which will connect land-locked countries with coastal ones and enable better co-operation between southern African economies.

The Nacala Development Corridor is an integrated logistics system that will link Mozambique’s port of Nacala with Malawi and Zambia through a weighty investment in rail, road and port infrastructure.

The Corridor itself runs westward from Nacala port, through Nampula and Cuamba to the Mandimba border with Malawi. In Malawi, it continues through to Mangochi at the lake, then links Liwonde and Lilongwe, proceeding through to Malawi’s border with Zambia at Mchinji. In Zambia, it proceeds through Chipata to Lusaka via Sinda, Petauke and Rufunsa.

The entire corridor covers a distance of over 1 700 kilometres and two one-stop border posts.

The SADC has designated the road section through Mozambique, Malawi and Zambia as Route 20 of the SADC Regional Trunk Road Network. Ultimately, Route 20 continues west to Angola and ends at the port at Lobito.

The investment potential in the corridor and in the region stands to receive a massive boost, as the strategic development co-operation between the governments of Mozambique, Malawi and Zambia will result in a seamless flow of goods at reduced cost.

The business case for the Nacala Corridor is clear. Malawi, Mozambique and Zambia are among the poorest countries in the world, with transport costs that rank highest in the region. The economies of these countries are not diversified and there is a great need to create an efficient, reliable flow of goods and services.

SADC has identified four priorities: to diversify the region’s industrial base, to create regional industrial specialisation, to mobilise foreign investment, and to share training and capacity-building across the region. The strategy for achieving this: bridge the infrastructure gap.

There are practical reasons for linking Nacala Port with Blantyre. Historically, there has been a flow of goods and services from the coast, namely Nacala and Beira, to Blantyre, Lilongwe and the eastern and northern provinces of Zambia. The primary transport link has been the Nacala railway line, to Nampula in Malawi, which was favoured over the Sena line for being shorter.

In the 1980s, 95% of Malawi’s trade was routed through Beira and Nacala. The conflict in Mozambique forced a shift away from rail transportation to road, involving much longer distances, and a reliance on the ports of South Africa and Tanzania. This has created artificially high transportation overheads in the region.

Nacala has other advantages. The port long has been regarded as both the best and most under-utilised port on the East African coast. It has an access channel of 800 metres wide, is the deepest and, unlike Beira, does not require dredging. It currently handles 600 000 tonnes of cargo per year, while the railway moves 250 000 tonnes. The improved infrastructure will allow the port to handle well over one million tonnes per annum.

Plans for Nacala have been around for some time, but slow delivery caused a few setbacks. In 2008 United States-based Railway Development Corporation sold its stake in the Mozambican Corredor de Desenvolvimento do Norte consortium, apparently because of a breakdown in communications with Maputo. The corridor is now on its way to becoming a reality, with mining interests in the region making further investments late in 2009.

Brazilian mining giant Vale and Australian Riversdale both have concessions in the Moatize basin and currently ship coal out along the Sena line to Beira. Together with Mozambican group Insitec Investments, a partnership worth US$1.6 billion has been put in motion in Mozambique. Coal will be exported by via Nacala once the upgrades have taken place.

In Malawi, President Bingu wa Mutharika announced in 2009 that a loan of $21.4 million from the African Development Bank would be used to develop Malawi’s roads in the Corridor, opening up the country to international trade.

The implementing agency is SADC, which will spend Phase 1 upgrading the 348-kilometre stretch of road between Nampula and Cuamba in Mozambique, followed by the 13km Lilongwe bypass. This phase also involves review, pre-contract and supervision, as well as road safety and resettlement and compensation where necessary.

In Phase 2, civil works for the Luangwa-Chipata-Mwami Border (360km) will take place, along with programmes that will mitigate and monitor social impacts of the project, such as HIV/Aids and sexually transmitted disease prevention and management.

SADC plans that Phase 3 will focus on upgrading the Cuamba-Mandimba Road in Mozambique, which is 160km long; rehabilitation of Mangochi-Liwonde Road, 70km long; and providing access to the shores of Lake Malawi, and the Liwonde-Nsipe Road, 82km. Additionally, the two one-stop border posts with axle-load facilities will be constructed between Mozambique and Malawi and Zambia-Malawi.

If economic diversification is expected to be one of the main spin-offs for the region, it is certainly the case that a number of sectors will benefit – from tourism to mining to agriculture.

Tourism is a growth area in all three countries, and governments hope to market the region as a whole package, offering “beach bush and lake”. Mozambique offers adventure sports and relatively undeveloped beaches, while the Luangwa Valley in eastern Zambia is an established wildlife destination, and Malawi boasts tranquil lake holidays.

Agriculture, currently the backbone of Malawi’s economy, stands to improve at both small-holding and commercial levels if the cost of transportation is lowered and international markets can be opened. In Zambia, the opportunity to get exports to an international market cheaply and quickly hopefully will have the effect of strengthening agricultural potential.

It is the ordinary road users in the Nacala Corridor who will note the benefits with most relief. Vehicles will be cheaper to maintain, as the roads will be of better quality, and operation costs will be reduced when time savings kick in from more efficient border crossings and generally improved road conditions. Faster, more frequent, more comfortable transport options will ensue as the market becomes competitive, and in time this should result in a more mobile population engaged in enterprise across the region.

Tamara Guhrs

< Prev		Next >

Add comment

JComments

The road to Nacala

Add comment

Popular Articles