The bulk of the aid, 3,282 million yen, is intended for the rehabilitation of the Montepuez-Lichinga road, linking the northern provinces of Cabo Delgado and Niassa, while the remaining 215 million yen is for food aid.
Work on the Montepuez-Lichinga road, which is over 400 kilometres long, began last month and will continue until July 2010. The road, currently barely usable, will link Niassa to the port of Pemba, providing an alternative outlet to the sea to the branch railway line that connects Lichinga to the northern rail corridor and the port of Nacala.
The Japanese government says that this project will contribute to Mozambique's efforts to achieve the Millennium Development Goals, by developing infrastructures in the more remote parts of the country.
The funding for the road is a loan under Japan's MIRAI (Minimal Interest Rate Initiative), and carries an annual interest rate of 0.01 per cent. The food aid is a grant of rice.
The Japanese government has been providing food aid to Mozambique since 1977, and boasts that the total value of this aid has reached about 135 million US dollars.
SOURCE: AIM
