Maputo, June 15, 2026 (Lusa) - The Mozambican state-owned ports and railway operator, Portos e Caminhos de Ferro de Mozambique (CFM), announced on Monday that it will begin the second phase of the double-tracking the Ressano Garcia line, which connects to South Africa, in July, with a total investment of €137.8 million.
CFM stated in a press release that it is preparing a new strategic phase with the second phase of the doubling of the Ressano Garcia line, infrastructure it considers to be one of the country’s most important logistics corridors and a “fundamental link” between Mozambique and South Africa.
“The contractor responsible for the work is expected to be announced by July, paving the way for a project valued at around US$160 million [€137.8 million], aimed at boosting rail transport capacity and improving the flow of goods along the Maputo Corridor,” the company explains.
It adds that the first phase of the project has already increased transport capacity on the Ressano Garcia line in Maputo from around 13 million to 24 million tonnes per year, “demonstrating the decisive role of the railway in national logistics competitiveness”, despite the current “challenging context”, marked by the recent floods that affected the south of the country.
The weather events, it is reported, brought the Limpopo line – the second most important in the country – to a standstill for around three months, causing losses estimated at US$12 million (€10.3 million) and affecting the movement of around 130 trains.
"This scenario reinforces a key message: expanding rail capacity is essential, but ensuring infrastructure is resilient to weather events is equally urgent. The future of national logistics requires investment, modernisation and responsiveness," the company states.
Traffic on Mozambique’s rail network almost doubled in the first quarter of the year, to 151,400 passengers, recovering from the effects of the post-election protests in 2025 and despite the impact of the floods, according to a government report.
According to data from the Ministry of Transport and Logistics, the plan for 2026 forecasts the transport of nearly 631,000 passengers on the rail network, with first-quarter traffic representing a 95% increase compared to the 77,300 passengers carried from January to March last year.
As for rail freight transport, the document indicates that 3.6 million tonnes of general cargo were handled during this three-month period, an increase of 14.9% compared to 2025 and almost 20% of the target for the whole year.
However, in the same first three months of the year, CFM recorded losses of US$47 million (€40.1 million), resulting from cargo not transported and the destruction of infrastructure and equipment due to the floods that mainly affected the south.
The government announced in April last year that it intends to invest nearly €190 million by 2030 in the doubling of railway lines, and the acquisition of carriages, locomotives and wagons to boost passenger and freight transport capacity.
The government stated that it intends to invest the funds in completing the doubling of the remaining 25 kilometres of the Ressano Garcia railway line, as well as in the purchase of more than 30 carriages to boost passenger transport capacity.
For the same amount, it intends to acquire, by 2030, 250 wagons to meet the growing demand for mineral transport and to purchase at least 15 mainline locomotives, according to the company’s previous estimates.
LCE/AYLS // AYLS
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