The Nacala Logistics Corridor is a logistical mega-enterprise for connecting areas in Southeast Africa, which includes the creation and management of railways, highways, ports and airports, which directly serve Mozambique and Malawi, and indirectly to Zambia and Zimbabwe.
The main focus is the transport of coal from mines in western Mozambique east to the port of
Nacala
Nacala, also known as Cidade de Nacala or Nacala-Porto is a city on the northern coast of Mozambique. Located in the southwestern indentation of inner Fernao Veloso Bay, it is the deepest natural port on the east coast of Africa. Nacala serves as ...
via
Malawi
Malawi (; or aláwi Tumbuka: ''Malaŵi''), officially the Republic of Malawi, is a landlocked country in Southeastern Africa that was formerly known as Nyasaland. It is bordered by Zambia to the west, Tanzania to the north and northeast ...
. The enterprise included both construction of new trackage and the rebuilding of existing lines.
In 2010, Brazilian mining company
Vale
A vale is a type of valley.
Vale may also refer to:
Places Georgia
* Vale, Georgia, a town in the Samtskhe-Javakheti region
Norway
* Våle, a historic municipality
Portugal
* Vale (Santa Maria da Feira), a former civil parish in the municipali ...
purchased majority ownership in
Nacala railway
Nacala railway, also known as Northern Corridor railway and Nacala Corridor railway, is a railway line that operates in northern Mozambique on a lineGarcia, Ana.; Kato, Karina.Politicas Públicas e Interesses Privadas: uma análise a partir do Cor ...
(Mozambique) and Malawian railroad
Central East African Railways Central East African Railways is a consortium formed in 1999, led by the Railroad Development Corporation, which won the right to operate the Malawi Railways network. The company was sold in September 2008 to INSITEC, an investment group based in ...
as the beginning phase of a project to develop rail access from the deepwater port at Nacala to the company's mines near
Moatize
Moatize is the principal town and administrative center of Moatize District in western Mozambique, Mozambique's Tete Province. It is located on the eastern side of the Zambezi River at the confluence of the Moatize and Revúboé River, Revuboe Riv ...
, Mozambique.
In December 2011, Vale contracted with the government of Malawi to rebuild trackage in the country and construct of new railroad from Cambulatsissi on the western border of Malawi to
Nkaya Nkaya, also known as Nacaia, is a town in Malawi, located in the district of Balaka and in the Southern Region of the country.
Its economy is predominantly agricultural, but it has an important logistics sector, as it serves as the junction point ...
, where it would connect with the existing line.
In July 2012, Vale entered into a partnership with Mozambican state company
Mozambique Ports and Railways
Portos e Caminhos de Ferro de Moçambique (abbreviated CFM; in English Mozambique Ports and Railways) is a state-owned company that oversees the railway system of Mozambique and its connected ports.
The rail system is composed of a total of 2,9 ...
(CFM) to improve the existing CDN line—formally named the Nacala Logistics Corridor, the name eventually ended up referring to the entire project in both countries.
To this end, mining company Vale, CFM and Malawi companies agreed on the creation of the
Northern Development Corridor Society (CLIN) joint venture to manage the logistics equipment in the Nacala Corridor.
Early estimates placed the cost of the project, arranged as an 80/20 partnership between Vale and CFM, respectively, at US$1.1 billion.
The first test trains began operating over the line in November 2014,
and regular service began the following year.
In late 2016, the
Siemens
Siemens AG ( ) is a German multinational conglomerate corporation and the largest industrial manufacturing company in Europe headquartered in Munich with branch offices abroad.
The principal divisions of the corporation are ''Industry'', '' ...
-designed
positive train control
Positive train control (PTC) is a family of automatic train protection systems deployed in the United States. Most of the United States' national rail network mileage has a form of PTC. These systems are generally designed to check that trains a ...
system came online, allowing for train frequency to increase with coal production.
In May 2017, a ceremony in Nacala marked the formal completion of the line, by which time 22 daily coal trains were operating over the route.
By the time of its completion, the total cost of the line had risen to US$4.4 billion.
The Nacala Logistics Corridor has a total of of trackage, all of which has a
1,067 mm gauge.
It operates 85
General Electric Dash 9-BBW locomotives and 1,962 individual pieces of rolling stock.
References
{{reflist
Transport in Mozambique
Transport in Malawi