Construction of a a metallic bridge across the Licungo river in the central Mozambican province of Zambezia has began. The Minister of Public Works, Joao Machatine, accompanied by Zambezia provincial governor Abdul Razak, laid the first stone.
The bridge will be 925 metres long and seven metres wide, linking Namacurra district on the west bank, to Maganja da Costa, Mocubela and Pebane on the east. The project is estimated to cost US $14.8m which is is being financed by the government.
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Licungo river bridge
China Road and Bridge Corporation (CRBC), which built the suspension bridge over the Bay of Maputo, linking the centre of the Mozambican capital to the outlying district of Katembe won the contract for the project.
According to the Public Works Minister, upon completion, the bridge will cut the journey from Pebane to Malei would be cut to 120 km from 400km, and from Maganja da Costa town to Malei, the distance would be just 50km. More than 100 people will be granted jobs during construction period.
“The new bridge is a unequivocal demonstration of the government’s efforts to improve conditions for the circulation of people and goods, and thus stimulate economic development. I believe that Namacurra, Maganja da Costa, Movubela and Pebane districts will, make a gigantic leap in income generation from the agricultural and fisheries potential they possess upon completion. Access to the main markets will be facilitated. The public will expand its income base, and the cost of living will fall substantially,” said Machatine.
The previous bridge was destroyed by massive flooding on the Licungo in early 2015. People from Pebane and Maganja da Costa districts who wanted to travel to Malei, on the Namacurra bank of the river, had to make an enormous detour to reach another river crossing.
