Mozambique’s state-run railway company said on Friday it was investing $30-million to upgrade its commercial fleet in a move to cut $100-million in wagon hiring fees charged by South African rail freight firm Spoornet.
CFM, which operates the African nation’s railways and ports, plans to refurbish 820 refurbished wagons with the investment, more than doubling the current number that travel lines to South Africa and Zimbabwe, spokesperson Antonio Libombo said.
The refurbishment will begin next month, with an initial 45 wagons being sent to South Africa for upgrades.
”It is a big investment because CFM has only 600 wagons in operation, which is not enough for our booming activities,” Libombo told Reuters by telephone.
But CFM will continue to pay Spoornet for services and use of the line connecting the port at Maputo, Mozambique’s capital, and South Africa’s industrial heartland of Gauteng.
Modernising Mozambique’s rail network, which was badly damaged in a 17-year civil war that ended in 1992, is a key part of Mozambican President Armando Guebuza’s efforts to boost foreign investment and trade.
The Southern African nation’s fast-growing economy, still largely dependent on agriculture, has been constrained by the poor condition of its ports, railways and other key infrastructure. – Reuters