Nacala, Mozambique — The volume of Malawian cargo handled in the northern Mozambican port of Nacala has been growing lately since both the port and the railway to Malawi were handed over to private management.

The Nacala Corridor was leased out to SDCN (Nacala Corridor Development Company), a consortium of Mozambican, South African, Portuguese and American companies, under an agreement signed in January 2000.

A source in the Mozambican Transport Ministry said there is "huge progress" in the use of the Mozambican railway system by Malawian business people, noting that during the last few months there has been at least one train every day to Malawi.

However, he could not give any details in terms of the volume of merchandise, saying that "only now are the statistics being worked on".

Malawi is now exporting large amounts of tea, tobacco and grain via Nacala: in the past much of this trade went through South African ports. Malawi is also importing much of its fuel and agro-chemical needs via the Mozambican port.

"We are certain that from now on, the volume of Malawian cargo handled in the Mozambican transport systems will grow significantly", said an official source.

Until recently, Malawian exporters had lost confidence in the Mozambican transport system, mainly due to the 16-year long civil war. This completely destroyed the line from Malawi to Beira, which has never reopened.

Scare stories circulated in Malawi, claiming that the Nacala line had also been destroyed.

Mozambican authorities note that much of the more valuable goods from landlocked countries in the region are still exported through South African ports rather than Mozambican ones.

"It is necessary to build up confidence for people to prefer the Mozambican route, the Nacala Development Corridor", a source in the Transport Ministry said, adding that people should be able to feel that their merchandise is being handled safely.