NEW BRIDGE CONSTRUCTION PUT ON HOLD AGAIN IN MOZAMBIQUE

Construction work on the new bridge over the Save River, separating Mozambique’s south and central regions, has again been suspended, since December 2021, as a result of the government’s financial difficulties in funding the project.

The Mozambican Minister of Public Works, Carlos Mesquita, said that the government is entirely aware of the situation, but it is now too cash-strapped to fund the project. However, without disclosing the date, he guaranteed that the work will resume.

The construction, which started in 2018, was scheduled to end in 2021. However, the interruptions put at risk the deadline for the infrastructure delivery, and the initial budget (nearly 98.3 million US dollars), disbursed by the Mozambican and Chinese governments, will be reviewed.

“The contractor’s presence on the ground, with the staff and equipment, has huge financial costs which were not envisaged, but now they have to be covered by the budget,” Mesquita stated.

While the new bridge is yet to be concluded, the movement of people and goods is assured by a temporary metallic infrastructure that can support up to 45 tonnes.

The infrastructure has been conceived in a bid to replace the old bridge built in the 1960s, which had become, over the years, less dependable and safe for the movement of people and goods, due to poor maintenance.

The work was first interrupted in October 2019 after the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic, as most of the technical staff is of Chinese origin and could not leave the country. On the other hand, it had become impossible to import building materials from China.

In the last quarter of 2019, construction resumed but faced interruptions caused by rainfall and the Save River almost burst its banks.