New boats for Maputo-Catembe.

08 Mar, 2006

Participants in the international competition to design and build new passenger and cargo vessels for the crossing between Maputo and Catembe on the opposite side of Maputo Bay now have until 20 March to submit their entries. The deadline for the competition had originally been set for late February.

The transport ministry, which launched the competition last December, has commissioned a 250-person passenger ferry, a boat able to transport 50-60 people and ten tonnes of cargo and a catamaran to carry 80-100 people and two tonnes of cargo. The competition is part of a project financed by the International Development Association to overhaul the countrys ports and railways. The new boats will run between the commercial Baixa area in central Maputo and Catembe, as well as linking the capital to Inhaca Island about 37 km off the coast.