Mozambique to get new railway line in December

12th December 2014

  

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Engineering, management and specialist technical services company Aurecon is providing design services for the new Moatize Nacala Port and Railway project to be concluded in December in Mozambique.

The Moatize Nacala railway is part of the Nacala logistics corridor commissioned by global mining company Vale.

The aim of the railway is to open up the vast coal reserves of the Tete basin in a route traversing remote areas, crossing through southern Malawi and reaching the east coast of Mozambique, says Mozambique Transport Minister Gabriel Muthisse.

Aurecon has been involved in the project since 2005 throughout the different stages.

Muthisse says, once the port and railway have been completed, “it will be possible to export 22-million tons of cargo through Nacala, of which 18-million tons will be coal”.

The construction of the new lines is meant to bring relief to the Sena railway line that has been responsible for transporting coal exports from the town of Moatize, in the western province of Tete, to the Port of Beira.

“Even with an increase in handling capacity to 12-million tons a year, the Sena line cannot possibly handle all the coal exports from Tete, which, in the medium term, could reach 100-million tons a year, says Muthisse.

Aurecon says the key challenge of the detailed design phase was to meet tight construction deadlines while also meeting the needs of the client and the Mozambique government. To meet the aggressive implementation timeframes of the project, the designs were done in a relatively short time. The designs were done by actively involving the client in the design process.

Further, innovative modular designs were introduced which not only shortened the turnaround time of the actual design, but also simplified and expedited the construction of the railway line.

The result is a detail design of a 910-km-long railway line, capable of handling coal exports in excess of 20-million tons a year. The line includes 230 km of greenfield railway line, and 680 km of brownfield railway line to be reconstructed and upgraded. The design further includes 68 new bridges, and the rehabilitation and strengthening of 33 existing bridges.

Maintenance facilities were designed along the route for the maintenance and operation of the line when it is up and running. Some 150 km of road has been designed, which includes access roads, maintenance roads and the rerouting of roads crossing the rail alignment, says Aurecon.

Muthisse says the railway also involves new stretches of line through neighbouring Malawi. “The railway will re-enter Mozambique at Entre-Lagos, in Niassa province, and the existing northern corridor, through Niassa and Nampula, is being upgraded to deal with the coal traffic.”

Further, in 18 to 20 months, there will be a new coal terminal in Beira with the capacity to handle 30-million tons a year. An entirely new port will be built at Macuse on the coast of Zambezia province, and another new rail line will link it to Moatize. It, too, will be able to deal with 30-million tons of coal a year, he says.

“Our challenge in this area is not just having the facilities. It is to guarantee that the facilities are managed in an efficient and competitive way. We do not want our national products to become uncompetitive because of railways and ports that are not up to standard,” Muthisse concludes.

Edited by Creamer Media Reporter

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