The rehabilitation of the Machipanda railway, which connects the city of Beira to the border with the Republic of Zimbabwe, will use only reinforced concrete sleepers manufactured in a factory currently being built in Dondo, Sofala province.
Ports and Railways of Mozambique (CFM) is investing close to US$3.5 million in the venture, and hopes to have the factory operational by mid-March.
In his inauguration speech on the 15th of January, President Nyusi announced that the Beira-Machipanda railway line would be rebuilt during the current mandate, and that projects such as the railway port of Macuse and the reintroduction of maritime cabotage would continue to be a priority.
In an interview with ‘Notícias’ yesterday, director of the Machipanda Line Reconstruction Brigade Sancho Quipiço Jr. said that rehabilitation should start this year. Work is currently underway removing the old factory, which supplied the sleepers for in the rehabilitation of the Sena line.
The new plant will have the capacity to produce 20,000 sleepers per month. In the next three years, if all goes to plan, the factory will achieve the goal of producing 200,000 sleepers needed for the Beira railway system, which comprises the Sena and Machipanda rail lines – a total extent of about 1,000 kilometres.
Quipiço Jr. considers the rehabilitation of the plant to be crucial, given the lack of any infrastructure of that kind in the central part of the country.
Source: Notícias via Club of Mozambique
