By: Club of Mozambique

Mozambique, signed a Ministerial declaration on Friday (19 December) aimed at extending the Nacala Railway Corridor, to strengthen regional integration, facilitate trade and ensure a competitive logistical link to the Indian Ocean.

“This is the path for the Port of Nacala to establish itself as a driver of regional integration and a catalyst for shared economic development,” said Mozambique’s Minister of Transport and Logistics, João Matlombe, during the 10th Meeting of the Nacala Development Corridor Management Committee, held in Maputo.

The meeting was attended by the ministers responsible for transport and logistics from the four signatory countries.

The agreement foresees the development of a railway line of approximately 2,400 kilometres, linking Chipata in Zambia to Serege in the Democratic Republic of Congo, passing through Malawi and Mozambique.

According to the signatories, the project aims to consolidate the Nacala Corridor as a strategic axis of regional integration, ensuring landlocked countries efficient access to the Port of Nacala in northern Mozambique.

“This project will be an example of African cooperation and shared strategic vision,” Matlombe stated, adding that “the Port and the Nacala Corridor are not just physical infrastructures. They are symbols of hope, progress and regional integration.”

The Mozambican minister emphasised that these infrastructures “represent the opportunity to show the world” that the “region can be an example of cooperation and real economic development.”

According to João Matlombe, the four countries must jointly mobilise funding and identify strategic partners for the construction of the railway line and associated logistical infrastructures along the corridor.

“The next step should be the signing of an agreement in the first quarter of 2026 that allows us to identify a strategic partner for the construction of the railway line and logistical facilities along the corridor,” Matlombe said, considering that this moment will be “decisive in turning our vision into action and consolidating regional integration.”

In August 2025, Mozambican President Daniel Chapo highlighted the “enormous potential” of the Nacala Logistics Corridor to boost trade in Africa, while in 2023 then-President Filipe Nyusi signed agreements with Malawi and Zambia to intensify the joint use of this infrastructure, regarded as crucial for landlocked countries.