Mozambique mulls new capacity for Sena line

Portuguese engineering firm Mota-Engil and China National Complete Engineering Corporation (CNCEC) have put pen to paper on a contract to transport coal from the Tete coal mines to a planned new coal port at Macuse.

The government of Mozambique has announced US$3B of new private sector investment in the Nacala railway. The line, which connects the Moatize coal mines in Tete Province in the northwest of Mozambique with the Indian Ocean port of Nacala, currently has handling capacity of 22 Mtpa. The funding was agreed by the government, the Northern Development Corridor (CDN) and the Nacala Integrated Logistics Corridor (CLN). CLN and CDN are owned by logistics and mining companies, including Mozambique’s sta

The Mozambique government is pushing ahead with the construction of another new coal railway from Tete province to the Indian Ocean.

Following upgrade works, capacity on the Sena line is expected to jump from 6.5 to 20 Mtpa by July, providing some relief for the country’s beleaguered coal sector.

A new rail bridge is under construction on the border between Mozambique and Swaziland. It will increase the handling capacity of the Goba Railway to 5 Mtpa in the short term, with the possibility for more at a later stage.

The profits of Mozambican rail and port operator Portos e Caminhos de Ferro de Moçambique (CFM) have jumped by a quarter over the past six months, continuing a recent trend. CFM’s total operating profit for financial year 2014-15 was MZN2.625B (US$75.2M), a rise of 41% on the 2013-14 figure. Apart from coal, the company also transports aluminium and grain. This contrasts sharply with the experience of most other stateowned rail and port companies in Sub-Saharan Africa, which generally rely on st