Mozambique’s National Roads Administration (ANE) announced on December 3 that it requires a minimum of 180 million meticais (€2.6 million) for road maintenance during the 2024-2025 rainy season in the capital, Maputo.
“This amount could vary depending on the extent of damage to the road network,” said Dade Mendes, ANE’s delegate for Maputo province, in an interview with Rádio Moçambique. Mendes noted that certain critical and recurring stretches of road are particularly prone to flooding and restricted accessibility during heavy rains. “We are on standby,” he added, emphasizing the readiness to address potential disruptions.
In preparation for the season, ANE has preemptively engaged contractors to respond swiftly to emergencies. “If the rains are moderate, we may avoid severe situations, but we have contractors and technicians from ANE and provincial inspection teams on alert,” Mendes explained.
Mozambique faces significant challenges during its rainy season, which spans from October to April. During the last rainy season (2023-2024), around 240,000 people were affected, with over 1,800 homes destroyed entirely, according to government data released in June.
From 2019 to 2023, Mozambique endured a series of extreme weather events, including cyclones and storms, which resulted in at least 1,016 deaths, impacted approximately 4.9 million people, and caused 2,936 injuries, as reported by the National Statistics Institute (INE).
The country, one of the most vulnerable globally to the effects of climate change, experiences regular floods and tropical cyclones during its rainy seasons. These events not only devastated communities but also placed immense strain on infrastructure, including the road network, which is critical for maintaining access and supporting emergency responses.
ANE’s proactive measures reflect the urgency of mitigating the effects of these annual challenges to ensure minimal disruption to transport and connectivity in the affected regions.