Maputo — Mozambican President Filipe Nyusi on Monday inaugurated a factory of tiles and other ceramic materials, budgeted at one hundred million dollars, arguing that it represents the country's capacity to carry out complex projects.

The factory, which was built from Chinese funds, will save over 12 million dollars a year that the country used to spend a year to import tiles.

According to Nyusi, speaking during the inauguration of the factory, in Moamba district, about 60 kilometres north of Maputo city, this factory is the largest of its kind in Africa.

"This trend towards imports has had a negative impact on our balance of payments and, by extension, on the level of our net cash available abroad. We have a limit to the amount of money and foreign currency we have. There are times when we have to say: let's save this to import medicines. Between mosaics and medicines, the priority is medicines, but it takes time to build', he said.

The factory was built under the programme "Lets Industrialize Mozambique', which is part of the government's Five-Year Programme (2020-2024), and is aimed at increasing national industrial production, through the use of local material.

Nyusi believes that the significance of this project goes beyond reducing the loss of foreign currency for the country "it also represents our capacity to implement complex undertakings. And such undertakings invite investors to the country.'

"If nobody trusts your country, nothing can happen', he stressed. "It's the trust that we build up over time that creates stability, including in the economy. When we talk about stability, it can't just be seen in the context of war'.