Mozambique’s economy will grow at a rate of 9.9% in 2024, a year after the extraction of natural gas begins in the Coral field of the Area 4 block, a project led by Italy’s ENI and US group ExxonMobil, according to a forecast by the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU).
The EIU also said in its latest report on Mozambique that the effects of the beginning of exploration of the natural gas deposits in the Rovuma basin will begin to be felt in that same year, when the economy should already be growing at a rate of 8.1%.
In 2019, the EIU analysts expect economic growth of just 1.0%, which is expected to increase to 4.8% in 2020 and 6.5% in 2021 and 2022.
This year was affected by great human and material losses due to the country being hit by two tropical cyclones, particularly in infrastructure, buildings, ports and farms, and projected growth are mainly based on reconstruction efforts.
The forecast acceleration of economic growth in the following years, according to the EIU, is the result of internal investment expected to be made by the companies involved in the exploration of natural gas. The multinational companies, wherever possible, are expected to hire local companies as suppliers of goods and services, such as financial and legal and civil construction.
The report recalled that the final investment decision for the Area 4 block is now scheduled for the beginning of 2020, after being postponed due to security problems related to attacks carried out by radical Muslim groups in Cabo Delgado province.
Source: Macauhub
