Maputo — Mozambique Airlines (LAM) has received its first Boeing 737-300 freighter, which will meet the demand for the transportation of goods.

According to Wednesday's issue of the Maputo daily "Notícias', citing a source from the company, following reception of the freighter, some bureaucratic hurdles are being cleared so that the aircraft can start operating soon.

According to the source, LAM, in coordination with the Mozambique Airports company (ADM), is working in order to make the transportation of goods more competitive, which includes re-evaluating the fees charged and ensuring that all systems are certified.

At the moment, two charges are levied: cargo, which costs 10 cents per kilogram, and airport security, which varies from one airport to another and depending on whether the goods are being exported or imported.

Under the Economic Acceleration Program, the airport security for Chimoio, in the central province of Manica, and Lichinga and Pemba - in the northern provinces of Niassa and Cabo Delgado, respectively - is no longer charged, in order to encourage the export of products from those provinces.

The company also argued that in order to promote competitiveness it is also necessary to create incentives and encourage producers to transport cargo by air.

Last December, LAM resumed direct flights from Maputo to Lisbon, after an interruption of 12 years. It also announced, in September, the resumption of direct flights between Johannesburg and the southern Mozambican city of Inhambane, as well as the intention of buying a Boeing 737 freighter to handle cargo transport within the country and abroad.

In April, the government placed LAM under the management of the South African company Fly Modern Ark (FMA), which is responsible for bringing the company into profitability, and rescuing it from bankruptcy.