Maputo — The African Development Bank (ADB), the Japanese International Cooperation Agency (JICA), and the EXIM Bank of South Korea have agreed to finance construction and rehabilitation of road links from the northern Mozambican port of Nacala, across Malawi and into Zambia.

The total length of road involved is 1,033 kilometres, but the first phase, costing about 293 million dollars will deal with 365 kilometres at various points within Mozambique and Malawi.

According to a release from the ADB, the bulk of this sum, 270 million dollars, will be spent in Mozambique

"The greater part of the budget for this first phase will be financed by the African Development Fund (part of the ADB Group)", said the release, but without specifying an exact sum. The rest will be financed by JICA and the Korean EXIM bank, and the Mozambican government will contribute about 34.14 million dollars

The final negotiations over this funding took place this week, culminating in the signing of minutes between the Mozambican government and the financing agencies, indicating approval of the terms for the loan agreement. Approval from the ADB board is expected next month.

The ADB release claims that improving the Nacala Corridor road links will promote economic growth in the SADC (Southern African Development Community) region, and will strengthen regional integration.

The ADB claims that inside Mozambique the project will benefit about 787,000 people directly.