Fabio Scala Agriculture, construction, Economy, FDI, Finance, Infrastructure, Malawi, Mining, Mozambique, Natural Resources

African Development Bank endorses USD$300m Nacala logistics corridor loan

The African Development Bank (AfDB) has endorsed a plan to provide up to $300 million to help Brazilian mining company Vale SA finance the expansion of the Nacala logistics corridor in East Africa, according to a brief media statement from Vale on Monday.The Nacala corridor links areas in Zambia, Malawi and Mozambique with the port of Nacala on Mozambique’s Indian Ocean coast and will help Vale move coal from its Moatize coal mine in Mozambique to markets around the world.

Vale is reliant on the port and connecting railway, together known as the Nacala Corridor, to reach capacity at its Moatize coal mine in northwest Mozambique.

Vale’s Moatize project has been beset by logistical problems, with the difficulties in building and expanding the Nacala railway and port holding back production increases at the mine.

Currently under construction, the Nacala Rail Corridor will connect the inland, resource-rich mining areas in the province of Tetê with the natural deep water port at Nacala in Mozambique.

The rail line runs for 900 km through land-locked Malawi to the port of Nacala on the Indian Ocean. Vale had originally said it expected to ship coal from the new port in the first quarter of 2015.

Japanese trading group Mitsui Co also owns a 15 percent stake in the Nacala corridor project.

Source: StarAfrica