NDF supports climate resilient road infrastructure in Mozambique

Extreme weather events, such as heavy rainfall and floods, can have serious deteriorating effects on road infrastructure in Mozambique. For example, in early 2013, Mozambique faced devastating flood in the Gaza province, which caused damages to road infrastructure of more than USD 150 million. Future climate scenarios for the country indicate that a number of important sections of the road network are at risk. The business activities relying on road transport have been suffering from the low density of road network in Mozambique, and especially East-West links remain in poor condition.

The African Development Bank (AfDB) is financing Nacala Road Corridor Project, which aims to develop a transport link between Malawi, Zambia and Mozambique to increase East-West connectivity and stimulate socio-economic development. The currently ongoing phase of the project covers a road section, which faces high climatic risks due to the hillier terrain. Flash floods can be expected, and, hence, larger areas will be affected by erosion damage.

NDF has agreed to support the sustainability of the project by enhancing climate change considerations in planning and design of road transport infrastructure. NDF has used early lessons learned from other transport adaptation projects in the design and provide additional expertise not covered by other financers. The objective of the NDF support is to provide the National Road Administration, and other key stakeholders, with capacity and additional tools to manage climate impact threats to road development. The NDF project aims at enhancing the capacity within the stakeholder groups to make road development plans, improve construction methods and ensure active and sustainable asset management.