CFM with major developments
On 8 July 2024, the Ports And Railways Of Mozambique (CFM) celebrated three monumental milestones. The first being their 129th birthday, the second the completion of the first phase 42 km for the dual track upgrade on the Ressano Garcia Line and lastly the expansion of the Passenger Railway Terminal at Maputo Central Station.
For the Ressano Garcia Line, which has been officially inaugurated by the President of the Republic of Mozambique, His Excellency Filipe Nyusi, CFM has funded this project themselves to the value of USD 80 million in response to the increased demand for rail and port services from neighbouring countries.
The project aims to increase tonnage volumes from the current 13 million tonnes per annum (MTPA) to 24 MTPA. To accommodate the future incremental increase in train length, the loops in stations have also been extended to cater for trains with 160 wagons.
For phase 2, which will connect Secongene to Ressano Garcia, the distance is between 17-19 km. Interest has been expressed by AFD, the French DFI financial institution, and due diligence has been completed with an estimated loan of USD 94 million for the second phase. The European Union is also involved through a grant for the signalling system, and the due diligence has been completed. This will go to the board in January.
At the same time, CFM has already started the process of recruiting consultants to do the detailed design study and it is anticipated that they will go to market in January for the works tender. It is estimated that within two years the whole project will be complete. The bottleneck will only be removed once the second section has been completed. This next phase will significantly increase the cargo flows from South Africa to the Port of Maputo, taking the operations to 40 million tonnes per annum.
The expanded Maputo Central Station terminal has been incredibly tastefully executed, keeping with the history of the building while offering modern facilities comparable with just about any passenger terminal internationally.
