The state company Rail India Technical and Economic Service (RITES) will supply 10 locomotives, in a deal worth 37.6 million dollars (34.4 million euros), to Portos e Caminhos de Ferro de Moçambique (CFM).
In a note to the Indian stock exchange, the company states that all the bidders were informed by CFM that the contract to supply 10 diesel-electric locomotives “was awarded” to RITES, which submitted the “lowest bid”, with effect from November 16.
The same note mentions that RITES was also competing to supply CFM with 300 wagons, but the Mozambican state company said that the deal had been awarded to another competitor without revealing any further details.
More than 5.5 million people used rail transport in Mozambique in 2022, an increase of 81% on the previous year due to the easing of COVID-19 prevention measures, according to CFM data.
According to the 2022 report and accounts of CFM, Mozambique’s state-owned ports and railways company, rail transport movements amounted to almost 5.6 million passengers last year, which is 98% of what was forecast by the administration.
This is still an increase of 81% compared to the movement in 2021, something that CFM also justifies in the report with investments made that have strengthened transport capacity in the south and center of the country. According to CFM’s report and accounts, Mozambique’s rail network transported a total of 24.6 million gross tons of cargo in 2022, a year-on-year increase of 30% compared to 2021.
The port terminals under CFM’s management handled 13.21 million tons during the 2022 financial year, an increase of around 6% compared to 2021, “as a result of the new investments that have been made by the company”.