Maputo, Feb. 3, 2026 (Lusa) - Mozambique needs €2.9 billion to repair national roads damaged by flooding in recent weeks, the government said on Tuesday, assuring that work is underway to maintain connections between provinces via alternative routes.
"It's about $3.5 billion [€2.5 billion] (...) the amount we are looking for in the market. We don't have that, we are looking for that amount to repair the national road, including roads in the rest of the country," Transport and Logistics Minister João Matlombe told journalists on the sidelines of Mozambique's Heroes' Day celebrations in Maputo.
Mozambique currently has more than 5,200 kilometres of damaged roads across the country, the minister said today, noting that the figure has increased following a new assessment of rain-related damage, which had previously been estimated at around US$1.2 billion.
The minister said that work is underway to ensure land connectivity between Mozambican provinces by Wednesday, while maintaining air connections, given flooding that has, in some cases, cut the main land routes.
"We are working 24 hours a day on the N1 (...), we have managed to open the alternative route from Chibuto, which is already operational, and on the N1 we continued with a very strong current until about Friday. We started to carry out specific interventions to see if we could reduce the water pressure, and all the teams are working to see if we can restore connectivity by tomorrow [Wednesday]," explained João Matlombe.
João Matlombe also said that Mozambique Airlines will resume normal flights to the capital of Gaza, Xai-Xai, and to the district of Vilanculos, in Inhambane, also in the south of the country, after the authorities increased the number of flights to these destinations due to the floods.
"At this point, there is no longer any justification for maintaining this level of flights. We will maintain normal, regular flights, but it is obviously important to maintain connectivity," added the minister, recalling that the plan to acquire more flights for the Mozambican airline, which is undergoing restructuring, is still in place.
Since the beginning of the rainy season in October, including the January floods, there have been 153 deaths, 254 injuries and 844,372 people affected, according to INGD data.
On 16 January, the government declared a national red alert.
According to the updated data, there are currently 77 accommodation centres in operation, with 76,251 people. This update also shows that since 7 January, 229 health facilities, 316 schools, and five bridges have been affected.
The INGD record also points to 440,842 hectares of agricultural area affected, of which 275,405 are reported as lost, affecting the activities of 314,780 farmers, in addition to the deaths of 408,115 head of cattle, goats, and poultry.
The European Union, the United States, Portugal, Angola, Spain, Timor-Leste, Switzerland, Norway and Japan, as well as neighbouring countries, have already sent emergency humanitarian aid.
VIYS/ADB // ADB.
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