BMB Mott MacDonald has been appointed by the Government of Mozambique to project manage an economic development programme aimed at improving rural employment and economies in central and northern Mozambique. The US$190M Integrated Growth Poles Project, a World Bank-funded initiative, seeks to improve the performance of enterprises and smallholders in identified high growth potential zones around the Zambezi Valley and Nacala Corridor.
Around 70% of Mozambique’s population lives in rural areas. The country remains one of the poorest in the world, with 54% of people living below the poverty line, but has huge potential for investment with fertile agricultural land in the Zambezi River Valley and surrounding areas, as well as large mineral reserves in the Tete province.
BMB Mott MacDonald will support the Zambezi Valley Development Agency and the Special Economic Zones Office in the Nacala Corridor to manage and monitor the US$34M Innovation and Demonstration Catalytic Fund (IDCF) under the Integrated Growth Poles Project. The consultancy will work closely with both organisations, sharing knowledge and experience to attract and develop significant capital investment and create related jobs and income. IDCF focuses on triggering new, innovative economic activities by building partnerships between economic stakeholders, including production and service companies, private investors, financial institutions, local authorities and public institutions.
Geert van Boekel, BMB Mott MacDonald’s project director, said: “Utilising investment opportunities is essential if we are to bring about socioeconomic change and ultimately improve living and working conditions among Mozambique’s rural population. The project is building on our earlier experiences in the region, in particular our work in and around the Tete-Nacala Porto railway line, which is expected to create further opportunities for investment in the country.”
The project is expected to complete in 2019.