Source: Africa Press Organisation – English (2) – Report:
Project implementation will improve logistics and reduce the cost of transporting goods and products using cost-effective, efficient means benefiting from economies of scale. It will lead to a paradigm shift that will improve the corridor’s competitiveness and make it an economical logistics transport solution.
The project is expected to improve the access of households to infrastructure through rail transport services. It will potentially reduce congestion and journey times by two minutes per kilometre and will reduce road fatalities by shifting road traffic to rail. It should also increase the number of private companies using freight services and ports, reduce congestion and logistics costs, and contribute to the overall competitiveness of companies while generating links with the local economy through local procurement and demand for other non-tradable services.
Project development outcomes will include trade facilitation, job creation and skills transfer.
The project will also significantly increase foreign earnings, which will grow from $225 million in 2022 to $360 million in 2036. During this period, the project is expected to bring the government a cumulative total of $1 billion in tax revenue.
It will strengthen intra-African trade and regional integration by increasing capacity and the volume of goods transported from neighbouring countries by the most efficient route, with Mozambique serving its neighbouring countries of South Africa, Eswatini, Malawi, Zimbabwe, and Zambia, providing them with a port for exporting their products and importing goods.
The project will achieve net carbon savings of 744,511 kilotonnes of CO2 over the period 2023-2035.