Maputo, July 8, 2024 (Lusa) - The passenger railway terminal at Maputo central station, the capital of Mozambique, has tripled its capacity for people from 25,000 to 75,000 a day, the Mozambican President said on Monday.

"We welcome the decision to expand the passenger terminal because it will allow us to increase capacity from 25,000 passengers to 75,000 a day, thus tripling the current capacity," said Filipe Nyusi, during the re-inauguration of the now expanded terminal.

The company Porto e Caminhos de Ferro de Moçambique (CFM) doubled the capacity of the Ressano Garcia railway line, which connects the country to neighbouring South Africa, and expanded the passenger railway terminal at Maputo's central station.

Filipe Nyusi said at the reopening ceremony that the remodelling of the infrastructure had cost around $90 million (€83 million), expressing his pride at the fact that the process had been financed by CFM's own funds.

The President hopes that the increased capacity of the Ressano Garcia railway line will reduce congestion on National Road Number 4, in particular the transport of minerals from South Africa to the Porto of Maputo.

"The Ressano line is also important because of its connection with South Africa, a country that plays an important role in Mozambique's foreign trade, ranking third as the destination of our exports and first as the origin of our imports," said Nyusi, referring to trade and economic relations with the neighbouring country.

According to figures provided by the Mozambican President, CFM has invested more than $600 million (€554 million) over the last five years in infrastructure, equipment and human resources, which also includes the two projects reopened today.

"This is an unequivocal sign of CFM's ability to generate cash flow from its recurring operations and sustain self-financing," said Filipe Nyusi, inviting local entrepreneurs to enter into partnerships with the company "whose financial position has been consistently strong and constant."

LN/ADB // ADB.

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