Skip to main content

Louis Berger wins Mozambique N303 road upgrade consultancy deal

Infrastructure consultancy Louis Berger is to provide services worth US$7.6 million for the rehabilitation of Mozambique’s National Road N303. The Sub-Saharan Regional Pipeline Corporation awarded the contract for work on the 350km narrow and unpaved carriageway that crosses Tete province. SSRPC is investing $350 million to upgrade the road that starts at the Zambezi River, where Mozambique, Zambia and Zimbabwe have a common border. The modernised road will be the shortest link to a railway under constructi
February 19, 2015 Read time: 2 mins
Louis Berger is assisting with the modernization of the 350-kilometer-long, narrow and unpaved carriageway that crosses the Tete province in Mozambique.
Infrastructure consultancy Louis Berger is to provide services worth US$7.6 million for the rehabilitation of Mozambique’s National Road N303.

The Sub-Saharan Regional Pipeline Corporation awarded the contract for work on the 350km narrow and unpaved carriageway that crosses Tete province. SSRPC is investing $350 million to upgrade the road that starts at the Zambezi River, where Mozambique, Zambia and Zimbabwe have a common border.

The modernised road will be the shortest link to a railway under construction between the coal-rich province of Tete and the northern port of Nacala Porto, the deepest port in southern Africa. The road will offer a more cost-effective transportation solution, importantly for mineral resources, particularly copper exports.

Nacala is also the nearest port for landlocked Malawi, which is connected by a 960km railway line.

The overall project will widen the road and reinforce highway structures. Specific improvements will include alignment, pavement and signage design; drainage and ancillary works; as well as the rehabilitation of 19 bridges. Louis Berger will provide design services for the development of feasibility, environmental and social impact assessment and resettlement studies.

SSRPC is completing the work under a type of public-private partnership with the government of Mozambique’s National Roads Directorate.

“The rehabilitation of the N303 is vital not only for Mozambique but for the region as a whole,” said Jean-Pierre Dupacq, head of Louis Berger’s operations in Africa. “The modernised road will greatly boost the local economy, which is mainly dependent on coal mining, by allowing the development of local small-scale enterprises along the road.”

Upgrading the N303 comes just as the government opened a new $1 billion port and coal terminal across the deepwater Nacala Bay, opposite Nacala Porto. The port, called Nacala a Velha, will in its first phase have an annual handling capacity of 14.5 million tonnes of coal delivered from the mines in the Moatize coal basin in Tete province.

Louis Berger has been working for 25 years in Mozambique, where the firm said it has implemented around 50 projects. The public and private sector-funded contracts cover a range of professional services in transport, environment, water and sanitation, agriculture, power, telecommunications and health.

Related Content

  • A history lesson in private public partnerships
    April 12, 2012
    Michel Démarre gives some historical insights into public-private partnerships conceived to implement urban infrastructure projects, a concept that surprisingly dates back to as early as the 13th century! All over the world today, the role of public authorities in the process of planning and, in most cases, designing, financing and procuring urban roads is paramount. Even for modifications to existing roads, decisions are made by these public authorities (usually after due consultation with the population)
  • Gordie Howe Bridge opening date set
    January 15, 2024
    The bridge connecting Detroit in the US state of Michigan and Windsor in the Canadian province of Ontaria will open in September next year.
  • Jacobs Engineering Group wins contract to upgrade Scotland’s A9 highway
    October 3, 2014
    Jacobs Engineering Group has won the contract to upgrade Scotland’s A9 highway which runs from central Scotland to the far north coast, converting the route into a dual carriageway between Perth and Inverness, one of the busiest sections of the route. Jacobs said that the deal will be “one of the largest road infrastructure projects in Scotland’s history.” This is the second of three design contracts awarded for the project; and it covers 44km of the route including 3km of existing dual carriageway betwee
  • Demand diversity in the construction equipment sector
    June 1, 2015
    Demand within the global construction equipment manufacturing industry is anything but homogenous, with certain countries and sales regions significantly outperforming others, with a whole host of factors fuelling and suppressing each key market - Guy Woodford reports