Maputo, Nov. 12, 2025 (Lusa) - The Millennium Challenge Account (MCA) Mozambique plans to launch the tender for the design and construction of the bridge over the River Licungo in “early 2026”, one of the main works of the US support of $500 million.
The information is contained in a "pre-announcement" of the tender published by MCA Mozambique, which is the result of the compact approved by the board of the US agency Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC), specifically providing for the construction of the new bridge and ring road on National Road 1, where it crosses the Licungo River, near Mocuba, Zambezia province.
The Mozambique Compact — the second with Mozambique since 2007 — is financed by the MCC and includes three structuring projects, including this one for Rural Connectivity and Transport (CTR), as well as coastal resilience, reforms, and investment in agriculture.
"The existing bridge on the Licungo River is congested, has exceeded its useful life, and is no longer fit for purpose. It has been damaged by floods twice since it was built in the 1940s, and there are no practical alternatives for heavy lorries to cross the Licungo River when floods damage it."
The CTR project, the announcement adds, thus includes the construction of a new 1.8 kilometre long bridge, about five kilometres downstream from the existing bridge, and 16 kilometres of new access road to connect the bridge to the N1.
The MCC administration decided to continue with the Compact after a review process, the United States Embassy in Maputo announced last September.
It said at the time that, following the Foreign Assistance Review, the MCC board of directors met in August "and recommended moving forward with the Mozambique Coastal Connectivity and Resilience Compact".
The funding, called Compact II, was signed on 20 September 2023 on Capitol Hill in Washington, in the presence of the then Mozambican head of state, Filipe Nyusi, during the previous US administration led by Joe Biden, who Republican Donald Trump succeeded.
The MCA had planned to launch the tender for the construction of the new bridge over the River Licungo at the beginning of this year, according to an announcement reported last December by Lusa, but this did not happen.
The province of Zambézia is the centre of this $500 million (€432.2 million) project by the MCC - a foreign support agency funded by the US government that says it will subsidise developing countries - and Mozambique's government will contribute $37.5 million (€32.4 million).
In this second compact with Mozambique, the focus is on improving transport networks in rural areas, encouraging commercial agriculture through political and fiscal reforms and strengthening coastal livelihoods through climate resilience initiatives.
The MCC allocates $310.5 million (€268.5 million) to Connectivity and Rural Transport (CTR) projects, including the bridge over the Licungo River and the construction of the Mocuba bypass, a project valued at $201 million (€173.7 million).
Almost $83.5 million (€72.1 million) has been earmarked for the construction of rural roads, and $11 million (€9.5 million) for road maintenance, among other projects.
For Reforms and Investment in Agricultural Projects (PRIA), $30 million (€25.9 million) has been allocated, with half allocated to the Agricultural Investment Tax reform package and the other half to setting up the Zambézia Province Commercial Aggregation Platform.
The third component, totalling $100 million (€86.4 million), is aimed at Coastal Livelihood and Climate Resilience (CLCR) projects to strengthen productivity through sustainable increases in fish and shellfish harvesting and through non-extractive activities.
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