The Mozambican publicly owned cellphone company Tmcel has agreed, with Chinese partners, to invest 153 million US dollars in state-of-the-art technologies.
An agreement signed in Beijing on Tuesday between Tmcel and the Chinese telecommunications giant Huawei, says that, in an initial phase 23 million dollars will come from the Mozambican company’s own capital, resulting from the sale of assets that are not the main focus of its business.
Sources in the Chinese capital told AIM that the terms of the agreement indicate that the project should begin “with the necessary urgency”.
The signing coincided with the first day of a six day visit to China by Mozambican President Filipe Nyusi.
Shortly after his arrival in Beijing, Nyusi praised Tmcel for its stance. “We know that, in addition to the government’s efforts, the company itself is using its own capital to achieve the necessary investments”, he said, in a meting with Mozambican business people. “This is healthy, and it’s how things should begin”.
Almost US$130 million more to renovate communications technology
The Minister of Transport and Communications, Carlos Mesquita, said that another bilateral cooperation agreement with China, involving investment of almost 130 million dollars, is about to start
“The investment has been approved by the Chinese government, and now the practical aspects for disbursement will follow”, he said.
The project involves the renovation of communications technology at a national scale, with the implementation of a further fibre-optic service, linked the north of the south of Mozambique and all the knots which connect neighbouring countries.
Nyusi is leading the Mozambican delegation to China for the second “One Belt, One Road” International Forum, an event which 37 heads of state and government are due to attend.
China’s “One Belt, One Road” initiative focuses on improving cooperation and connectivity between a wide range of countries in Asia, Europe and Africa. It is closely associated with Chinese President Xi Jinping himself.
Source: AIM