Thai group Italthai Engineering is the best positioned group to be awarded the international tender launched by Mozambique for construction of a railroad between Moatize, in Tete province and Macuse on the coast of Zambézia province, according to a report from Mozambican news agency AIM.
AIM, which cites Mozambican weekly newspaper Savana, said that as well as the Thai group the proposals for the tender have been put forward by the CLZ consortium (Zambezi Logistics Consortium), made up of the China Communications Construction Company (CCCC), Australia’s Aurizon and Mozambique’s Investe Logistica, as well as the SPI/Patel Engineering/Grindrod group with Indian and South African investors.
The railway between Moatize and Macuse, which will be 525 kilometres long, is expected to cost US$3.5 billion.
Coal exported from Moatize is currently carried along the Sena railroad, which is 673 kilometres long, or along the Nacala Corridor, which is 900 kilometres. Both these options are very costly for exporters.
Brazil’s Vale and Australia’s Rio Tinto are two of the main mining groups involved in exploring and exporting coal from Mozambique.
AIM reported that Rio Tinto supports the proposal put forward by the Thai company for construction of the railway.
During a visit to Mozambique in July by Thailand’s prime minister, Yingluck Shinawatra announced that her country would build a deep water port in Zambézia province and showed interest in building the railway between Moatize and Macuse.
Source: http://www.macauhub.com.mo/en/2013/08/06/thai-group-interested-in-building-railroad-in-mozambique/
