The Ports and Railway Company (CFM) has begun the rehabilitation of the Beira-Machipanda Railroad. The company has already started to replace tracks on the railway line connecting the Mozambican port city of Beira to Machipanda, on the border of Zimbabwe, as part of a US $200m investment.
According to CFM Board Chairperson, Miguel Matabel, the Beira-Machipanda Railroad railroad rehabilitation which began in late 2020, will be completed in 2022. “We would like to entreat everyone to look at the project as a common benefit to all Mozambicans and avoid the theft of railway equipment, because such a stance jeopardises its development,” he said while in Dondo district, in the central province of Sofala, where the launch ceremony was held.
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Improving the railroad capacity
He further explained that unlike the old tracks which can bear up to 40 kilos per metre, the new ones can take up to 45 kilos, thus boosting production and productivity. “We were using 60 tonne wagons, but from now on we will use 80 tonne wagons. Therefore these rehabilitation works are crucial to improving the capacity of the line”, said Matabel.
The work underway consists of welding the ends of seven 18 metre tracks to form a single track that is 126 metres long. Thus will form a more robust line, in line with international standards, allowing it to carry heavier cargo trains.
He also said that the Covid-19 pandemic has had a negative impact on the work, as the company recorded a delay in the delivery of the equipment from Europe and Asia, which should have arrived by March last year.
