The Mozambican government has disbursed approximately $10 million for the construction of two strategic logistics centres in the northern provinces of Nampula and Cabo Delgado, funded by the World Bank under the Conecta Negócios project.
The centres, in Topuito (Nampula) and Balama (Cabo Delgado), aim to integrate small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) into the supply chains of mega-projects, reduce transaction costs and enhance the private sector’s competitiveness.
Pedro Paulino, coordinator of the Conecta Negócios project, told AIM news agency that the facilities would have a significant economic impact.
“We are working on infrastructure to alleviate the private sector’s transaction costs after production to place their goods on the market,” he said.
In Topuito, the logistics centre will support the operations of Irish mining company Kenmare, which extracts titanium-bearing heavy sands in the region. It forms part of efforts to build a local industrial ecosystem linked to the extractive sector.
“We have an initiative to contribute to the establishment of small and medium-sized enterprises that can directly supply the demands of Kenmare,” Paulino said.
The development coincides with ongoing negotiations between the government and Kenmare for a revised contract that seeks to raise the State’s revenue share from 1.5% to 3.5%.
In Balama, a logistics centre would be built for graphite mining, focusing on processing and packaging for consumer markets, said Paulino.
The broader Conecta initiative has already trained more than 7 000 micro, small and medium-sized enterprises, of which about 45% are owned by women.
The two centres are viewed as key infrastructure to boost Mozambique’s productive sector by linking local businesses more effectively to large-scale mining operations.
