Maputo — About a billion US dollars has been invested in Mozambique's roads over the past five years, according to the Minister of Public works, Felicio Zacarias.

Over this period, more than 2,500 kilometres of roads were tarred, he said, and the condition of the country's main north-south highway improved considerably.

As anyone who drives from Maputo northwards can testify, much of that highway is indeed in excellent condition - but there remain patches which are still in need of major repairs. One of these is at the very start of the road, between the outer Maputo suburbs of Jardim and Benfica. The start of work on this stretch is due this month.

The repairs to the stretch between the capital of Gaza province, Xai-Xai, and Chissibuca began on 29 April, but no date is yet fixed for rehabilitating the Massinga-Nhachengue stretch in Inhambane province.

In all, between 2005 and 2008 the road sector had complied with 66 per cent of its targets under the government's five year programme. Which leaves fully a third of the work to be crammed into the final year.

According to the statistics of the National Roads Administration (ANE), during this period there were 22 major interventions on stretches of 12 national roads, covering 2,019 kilometres, including 608 kilometres of the north-south highway.

Routine maintenance undertaken by ANE covered 52,000 kilometres of roads. Since the entire road network is 30,000 kilometres long (of which only 10,000 kilometres is tarred), this means that many roads saw maintenance teams more than once in the four year period.

"When we analyse the road area, we note that, in general, the major objectives have been met", said Zacarias, "even though some of the work will only be concluded a few months after the end of 2009. But in general the work has been completed, or is under way".

Among the bridges completed since 2004 are those over the Incomati river, in Maputo province, over the Limpopo in Gaza, and over the Lugela in Zambezia. The longest bridge of all is the new bridge over the Zambezi, linking Sofala and Zambezia provinces, and forming a key link in the north-south highway. It is due to be inaugurated on 1 August.

The first road bridge between Mozambique and Tanzania, over the Rovuma river, is nearing completion, while rehabilitation has started on the Samora Machel bridge over the Zambezi in the western province of Tete.

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