Japan bankrolls Mozambique’s Nacala port development

The Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) will provide US$250 million for the second phase of the development project for the northern Mozambican port of Nacala that is expected to raise cargo handling capacity to 16 million tonnes of cargo by 2030 from 1.5 million tonnes, APA has learnt.

Mozambique’s Minister of Economy and finance Adriano Maleiane said the funding was an enormous lever for the advancement of the undertaking and would spur the growth of the Mozambican economy at the same time it would benefit not only Mozambique, but also other countries of the region.

According to Maleiane, the money takes the form of a soft loan and the loan agreement was signed in Maputo late on Thursday by himself and JICA’s resident representative, Katsuyoshi Sudo.

This loan is the largest support yet in a series of contributions made by JICA to renovate Nacala port and increase its capacity.

For the first phase of the development project, JICA made available about US$27 million in 2012 for the rehabilitation of the North Quay, followed by a further US$66 million in 2013.

Maleiane said the loan would be used for consultancy services, engineering work and the acquisition of port equipment.

The natural deep-water port of Nacala is a trans-shipment hub for landlocked countries such as Malawi and Zambia and has been used to handle regional exports of fertilizer, sugar, wheat and tobacco. Malawi is the biggest user of the port.

APA