Mozambique Leases a Port Terminal in Nacala to Malawi 

Mozambique intends to lease a portion of its northern port of Nacala to Malawi, a landlocked neighbour, in an unusual step.

The agreement aims to strengthen economic relations between the two nations. Presidents of Malawi and Mozambique, Filipe Nyusi and Lazarus Chakwera, respectively, signed the concession deal’s initial agreements last week to formally launch the venture.

As a result, Mozambique will make room at the Port of Nacala for Malawi to build a terminal for its goods.

“The agreements will benefit both countries, since they are instruments that aim to enable initiatives that are already underway such as the Mozambique-Malawi joint electrification project called MOMA,” Nyusi said.

The Port of Nacala is a part of the Nacala Development Corridor, which Zambia, Malawi, and Mozambique are all developing together. The goal of this project is to facilitate sea access and regional connection for Zambia and Malawi, two landlocked countries.

The 722 miles of road network, one-stop border checkpoints (OSBP) among the participating nations, and a renovated railway linking Lilongwe, the capital of Malawi, make up the corridor.

More specifically, Malawi’s national economic interests have found the Port of Nacala to be competitive. Recently, the National Oil Company of Malawi (NOCMA) began importing approximately 15 million litres of fuel via rail through Nacala.

Malawi will progressively become less dependent on the ports of Beira (Mozambique), Durban (South Africa), and Dar es Salaam (Tanzania), where import costs are high because of the use of road transport. This shipment makes that feasible.