CONNECT THE DOTS
Katembe Bridge will connect Maputo city with the new Katembe area, a district that will become home to up to 400,000 people over the coming two to three decades.
According to the last census results recorded by the National Statistics Institute (2007), Maputo city has a population of 1,111,638 inhabitants. This represents growth of 12.5% on figures from the previous census of 1997, or a population growth average of 1.2% per annum in the 10-year period. According to projections, the population of the city at present should stand at around 1,250,000 people, and could double within less than 30 years.
Maputo is a beautiful city surrounded by a large inlet of the Indian Ocean. Citizens of the city can enjoy an attractive coastal view from the balcony of their apartments, but it also means that these same coastal borders limit the growth of the city. Until now, the expansion has been largely disorganized and resulted in the establishment of numerous suburbs that have been developed on the outskirts of the city. New, more structured real estate developments are being built beyond the suburbs, but are limited in terms of connection with other parts of the urban environment. It can take more than an hour for residents to reach the city center, but an innovative method of sustainably and efficiently expanding the city may have just been found.
On the other side of the bay lies the district of Katembe, currently connected by a ferry that can carry less that 15 cars in the approximately 40-minute trip across the water. The other option to reach Katembe district is by driving around the bay for up to two and a half hours along unpaved roads. At the end of 2012, though, the first stone of the Maputo-Katembe bridge was laid by the awarded company, the China Roads and Bridges Corporation (CRBC). This company is currently building the largest suspension bridge on the African continent and one of the top 50 largest in the world. The project is important in that it will link Maputo with the planned urbanization project of the new Katembe district, allowing the already congested city of Maputo to expand in an organized way and permitting the population of Katembe to connect with the city center within a matter of minutes. Completion of the project is set for 2017, while government and private companies have already been working on the development of the new Katembe. The Masterplan for the Urbanization of the Municipal District of Katembe has already been approved, and combines balanced environmental, social, and economic solutions to divide the territory in 13 units including residential, commercial, industrial, logistical, tourism, and green areas that will be built over three phases. The development at the other side of the bay is also a great opportunity to create infrastructure for a new marina that can improve communications in the bay area. As Tiago Mendonça, Managing Partner at mzBetar Engenheiros e Consultores (BETAR), the company that started the Katembe project with the government about eight years ago told TBY, “If we get the right promoters and economic interest, then a new marina can also be developed in Katembe. This is a city that has a great connection to the sea, however some of the boating facilities we have are not fantastic. Improving the marina facilities would be another attraction, South Africans could then come here with their own boats."
The road network that will be developed is as important as the bridge and the urban development plans. New modern infrastructure spanning more than 200km in length will link Maputo and Katembe and Boane with Bela Vista, with the road ending at Ponta do Ouro, one of the preferred weekend destinations of residents of Maputo. This route, which takes about four to five hours at present, could be halved once the rest of the infrastructure is in place. In addition, half way between Katembe and Ponta do Ouro, travelers would be able to enjoy the beauty of the Maputo Special Reserve in the district of Matutuíne, a tourist site that will also be developed once all the necessary infrastructure is completed. This new road network will also facilitate the route from Maputo to Durban, improving communications between Mozambique and South Africa.
CONNECT THE DOTS
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Review: Economy
Much to Gain
Despite numerous years of considerable economic growth, Mozambique has been unable to retain its wealth and bring more than half of its population out of poverty. Developing one of the world's largest gas reserves and becoming a regional exporter of energy may be the solution.
read articleFocus: Aluminum
Foil Plans
Mozambique is the second-largest producer of aluminum in Africa and the 14th in the world. Since 2000, it has been producing aluminum for export, and in 2015 Midal Cables opened a factory near Mozal; the country's largest aluminum smelter. This could be the start of a Mozambican aluminum value chain.
read articleInterview
Ben James, Managing Director, Baobab Resources
TBY talks to Ben James, Baobab's Managing Director, resident in Mozambique. A geologist by training, Ben has been directly involved with the development of the Company's Tete Project from a greenfields iron ore discovery to an asset on the verge of corner-stoning Mozambique's nascent steel industry.
read articleFocus: Aluminum
Aluminum Legacy
Mozambique is the second-largest producer of aluminum in Africa and the 14th in the world. Since 2000, it has been producing aluminum for export, and in 2015 Midal Cables opened a factory near Mozal; the country's largest aluminum smelter. This could be the start of a Mozambican aluminum value chain.
read articleInterview
Hon. Jorge Olívio Penicela Nhambiu, Minister, Science and Technology, Higher and Technical Vocational Education (MCTESTP)
TBY talks to Hon. Jorge Olívio Penicela Nhambiu, Minister of Science and Technology, Higher and Technical Vocational Education (MCTESTP), on bringing science and technology to rural areas and increasing research in the country.
read articleFocus: E-government + E-bau
Digital Decisions
Between 2015 and 2016, Mozambique fell five positions in the World Bank's Ease of Doing Business Index. The government is investing in the GovNET and e-BAU platforms to facilitate procedures and cut the costs of acquiring business licenses and improving services provided to the public.
read articleReview: Health
Time for a check-up
Mozambique's healthcare budget rose to $561.5 million in 2015, an increase of 1.1% on expenditure in 2014, accounting for 10.2% of the state budget. Total healthcare expenditure in 2014 was $477.5 million. The Ministry for Health oversees the sector and is responsible for setting the budget each year.
read articleInterview
Dr. João M. Carvalho Fumane, Director General , Hospital Central de Maputo (HCM)
TBY talks to Dr. João M. Carvalho Fumane, Director General of Hospital Central de Maputo (HCM), about the range of services on offer and what is being done to further excellence in the health sector
read articleInterview
Hon. Jorge Ferrão, Minister, Education and Human Development
<span style="line-height: 1.6em; background-color: initial;">TBY talks to Hon. Jorge Ferrão, Minister of Education and Human Development, on the goals of the ministry, the role of local languages, and tackling teacher absenteeism.</span>
read articleInterview
Prof. Doctor João Leopoldo da Costa, Rector, Instituto Superior de Ciências e Tecnologia de Moçambique (ISCTEM)
TBY talks to Prof. Doctor João Leopoldo da Costa, Rector of Instituto Superior de Ciências e Tecnologia de Moçambique (ISCTEM), on the perils of the internet on education and the quality of its high school.
read articleReview: Tourism
Mozambeach
With white-sand beaches, scuba diving, and game reserves among its wide range of accommodation, Mozambique is a goldmine for tourism. However, to attract the number of tourists the country is aiming for, and entitled to, it will have to compete with its considerably more popular neighbors.
read articleReview: Legal
Smart Choices
Foreign investments are sources of capital, foreign exchange, and technical know-how for developing countries such as Mozambique. Over the past three decades, Mozambique has been successfully striving to ensure a favorable legal framework for foreign private investment.
read article
