Oxford Economics has revised upwards its growth forecast for the Mozambican economy, which is now expected to grow by around 4.4% due to the acceleration of infrastructure development, particularly in Cabo Delgado.
“Growth in Gross Domestic Product (GDP) surprised us significantly in the first half of this year, which will lead us to increase our forecast for growth in the year as a whole from 3.6 per cent to close to 4.4 per cent,” the analysts wrote in a commentary on the evolution of the Mozambican economy in the first six months of this year.
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In the commentary, sent to clients, the African department of British Oxford Economics writes that “the Coral South liquefied natural gas project could increase total natural gas production, which, combined with infrastructure reconstruction, supports the revision of the economy’s growth estimate”.
“In addition to developments in the liquefied natural gas sector, we anticipate that investments in infrastructure related to the expansion of the electricity grid and the reconstruction of damaged infrastructure in Cabo Delgado will also support economic growth this year,” points out Oxford Economics.
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The consultancy had already postponed the forecast for TotalEnergies to restart work from the end of this year to the first half of 2024, “due to reports that the project is facing disagreements between contractors over costs”, which means that Oxford Economics Africa anticipates “a lower level of construction and spending on fixed investments in the second half of the year, but even so, growth in the first half of the year is sufficient to offset this reduction”.
