Maputo, 17 Aug (AIM) – The Mozambican government has disbursed a total of 56.6 million meticais (about 886,000 US dollars, at the current exchange rate) to replace the bridge over the Nkalatchane river, on the N3 national highway that connects the administrative posts of Impaputo and Goba, in Namaacha district, Maputo province.
“This is another step forward in the reconstruction process that the government is implementing”, the deputy minister of Public Works, Cecília Chamutota, told reporters on Wednesday during the inauguration of the bridge.
The bridge was built by a Mozambican contractor, Ereptz Construções, which began work in April. It is 70 meters long, 10 meters high, and approximately three meters wide.
According to Chamutota, the bridge was installed after the fragility of the pillars of the old bridge was verified and the specialists decided that there were engineering conditions to put a metallic infrastructure in its place.
It was necessary to carry out interventions in the abutments of the bridge, protection of slopes, and the construction of massifs and access ramps to the metallic bridge.
While work on installing the metal bridge continued, the contractor built a detour that ensured the link between Maputo and Goba.
“The inaugurated work is part of a broad reconstruction program that is being implemented by the government”, said Chamutota. “During the rainy season, the road network in Maputo province was partially affected, which limited the movement of people, goods and services”.
“We know that this is a very important connection for our country, as it connects our province to South Africa and Eswatini, said the Deputy Minister. “It is a very strategic bridge because it connects agricultural and livestock production areas”.
She appealed to users to obey the established load limit, which is less than 30 tonnes, and urged the National Road Administration (ANE) to install a weighbridge to control the size of loads.
(AIM)
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