R1.2 billion N4 Highway expansion project proceeds

Trans Africa Concessions N4 (TRAC), the South African company that manages the highway from Pretoria to the Port of Maputo, has confirmed that it is on schedule this week to begin the R1.2 billion major expansion of the 66km stretch from Ressano Garcia to the Tchumene Interchange.

The deal is based on a concession agreement signed with the South African and Mozambican road agencies.

TRAC has contracted WBHO for the project, despite targeted spillover protests from disputed elections, as the pace of infrastructure projects accelerates.

TRAC N4 spokesperson Solange Soares said the company was only able to resume toll fee collections over a week ago due to the protests, which last week led to an attack on its maintenance and storage facilities in Matola, Mozambique.

Soares confirmed that one of TRAC’s roadside emergency response (TRACAssist) vehicles was stoned and set alight, resulting in injuries to two response officers, while an employee’s private vehicle parked in the Maintenance Centre yard was also set on fire.

"Most of the unrest in Mozambique targeting TRAC has been experienced near the Maputo Toll Plaza and the TRAC Maintenance Centre in Matola. So at this stage, should things remain as they are, or hopefully improve, we do not foresee delays in commencing the project," Soares said.

She added: "TRAC has no other way of generating income other than through toll fees, as per the 30-year concession contract signed with the road agencies of Mozambique and South Africa (Mozambique Roads. Agency and South African National Roads Agency). The money collected at the tolls is used to reinvest in major infrastructure upgrades and rehabilitation, routine and periodic road maintenance, cover fixed expenses, and fund social responsibility initiatives, just like any other privately owned company."

Soares confirmed that there were no South African personnel at TRAC’s Mozambican facilities, which the company operates.

Meanwhile, DP World and Sociedade de Desenvolvimento de Maputo (MPDC) announced this week that work has begun on the Phase 1 expansion of the container terminal at the Port of Maputo—the first phase of an ambitious plan to increase the terminal's capacity from the current 5.1 million tonnes to 10.6 million tonnes per year.

The work, valued at $164 million (R3 billion) and expected to be completed in two years, includes the expansion of the container storage yard to 6.48 hectares, the construction of an additional 400 metres of quay—bringing the total to 650 metres at this stage—and deepening the quay draft from minus 12 metres to 16 metres. This will enable the terminal to accommodate new post-Panamax vessels of up to 366 metres.

The MPDC said that, additionally, more than 700 sockets for refrigerated containers will be installed to boost the growth of agricultural exports, particularly citrus from Limpopo in South Africa and Massingir in Mozambique.

"The deepening of the quay and expansion of infrastructure will allow the Port of Maputo to receive larger vessels, gaining competitiveness in the region and positioning Maputo as an ideal transshipment hub by 2026," DP World CEO and Managing Director for Sub-Saharan Africa, Mohammed Akoojee, said.

According to the Mozambique Community Network (Mcnet), a public-private partnership that implements the Single Electronic Window (SEW), the Border Management Authority last week reported a drop of about 183 195 travellers at the Lebombo border post, directly attributed to the protests and interruptions. This led many travellers to resort to using the Kosi Bay port of entry to Mozambique through KwaZulu-Natal, which saw an increase in traveller volume to over 63 000, compared to 41000 the previous year, BMA Commissioner Mike Masiapata said.

According to a paper by Thabile Nkunjana, a senior economist at the NAMC, Moses Lubinga, manager of agro-food chains, and Victor Thindisa, senior manager of MERC, as of January 1, 2025, there was a smooth flow of products between South Africa and Mozambique. However, a comparative trends analysis between August and November 2023 and 2024 suggests that South Africa’s agricultural exports declined by 8.2% in 2024, in contrast to the 9.5% rise recorded in 2023. During 2023, monthly growth in South Africa’s top five exports to Mozambique was registered for non-alcoholic beverages and “groats and meal of maize.”