Preparatory work is underway to launch tenders for the project and will costs around USD270 million. The work includes reconstruction and expansion of the pier, acquisition of general cargo handling equipment, construction of the railway container terminal and improvement of access roads.

Back in May 2015, the Ambassador of Japan in Mozambique, Akira Mizutani, signed an agreement with the government of Mozambique to grant a loan of USD280 million to finance the second phase.

The first phase of the project was also funded by the Japanese government at a total cost of USD84 million. The work included repairing the north pier, paving the container terminal, installation of equipment to modernise fuel operations and construction of a new railway terminal which was awarded to the Japanese company Penta–Ocean Construction Co Ltd.

With the latest agreement the Japanese government is investing more than USD360 million in Nacala. In addition to serving Mozambican commercial operators and farmers, the port of Nacala is the gateway for goods entering and exiting neighbouring Malawi.

“The throughput of the port of Gdansk this year will be 35 million tonnes, an increase of three million tonnes, so we are obliged to provide enough power to grow the Polish economy,” said Dorothy Raben, GPA president.

With several Chinese investors already expressing interest in the project, Raben assured that the External Port would not impede container flows from the container terminal, DCT Gdansk, which is currently undergoing an USD324 million expansion to raise capacity to three million TEU and enable it to dock 18,000 TEU ships.

Container throughput at DCT Gdansk fell 10% in 2015 year-on-year to 1.1 million TEU due to the embargo with Russia, but overall cargo throughput was up.

Around USD86 million has been allocated for the construction of a port in Owendo, close to the capital, which is a 50/50 joint venture with Olam International, the Singapore-listed agricultural products group.

The port is expected to be operational in the second
quarter of 2016 and will improve the competitiveness of the country.

Another USD126 million has been allocated to the construction of a major highway project connecting Libreville with towns in the rest of the country. Poor road infrastructure has traditionally been a major hindrance to regional trade and highways connect only two of the six capitals included in the zone. This project is expected to be completed at the end of 2016.