MOZAMBIQUE: National railway Caminhos de Ferro de Moçambique has unveiled the first two of 10 freight locomotives which are being supplied from India’s Banaras Locomotive Works via consultancy RITES.
The 100 km/h 1 067 mm gauge locomotives with EMD 710G3B engines are being supplied a cost US$3·45m each, financed through loans from the African Development Bank, Standard Bank and Banque pour le Commerce et l’Industrie. BLW has previously supplied six similar locomotives which were ordered in 2020; the latest 10 were ordered earlier this year.
At the unveiling ceremony in Maputo on September 12 Minister of Transport & Logistics João Matlombe praised the CFM for its vision and stressed the need for strong and results-oriented public enterprises capable of directly impacting the lives of citizens.
The locomotives ‘are more than just a reinforcement of the fleet’, he explained, adding that they symbolised a commitment to the transformation of the country’s logistics sector and ‘investment in a modern, efficient and competitive railway and port system ready to serve the national economy and the region’.
