Mozambique is set to benefit from 26 steel bridges funded by the African Development Bank to replace infrastructure destroyed by cyclones that ravaged the southern African country two years ago, the bank announced on Wednesday.
AfDB country manager for Mozambique, Pietro Toigo said the modular bridges are meant to restore transport connections to areas in Manica, Sofala, Nampula and Cabo Delgado provinces whose road infrastructure was severely damaged during Cyclones Idai and Kenneth in 2019.
“We are delighted to be able to deliver this important contribution to Mozambique and respond to the recent climate disasters while investing to building back better,” Toigo said in a statement.
With a lifespan of up to 100 years, the bridges are expected to provide a temporary solution in areas that are vulnerable to extreme weather while the government invests in climate-smart permanent bridges.
The bridges are funded under the Post Cyclone Idai and Kenneth Emergency Recovery and Resilience Programme, which was approved in the wake of these two cyclones that struck Mozambique, Malawi and Zimbabwe in 2019 and affected around three million people in the three countries.
The programme is being implemented until December 2023 at a total cost of US$100 million.
JN/APA