The first phase of rehabilitation and modernization work on the Machipanda railway line, in Zimbabwean territory, between the Machipanda border crossing in Manica and the town of Mutare in Zimbabwe, will be completed by June this year, writes Rádio Mocambique.

The project to rehabilitate and modernize the railroad is part of the Zimbabwean government's response to the extension of the line, which on the Mozambican side was completed and inaugurated in December last year.

The minister of transport and communications, Mateus Magala, explained this Friday that the work will continue up to the Zimbabwean capital, Harare, over a stretch of two hundred and eighty kilometers, and is budgeted at around 100 million dollars.

Quoted by Rádio Mocambique, Mateus Magala said that Mozambique, Zimbabwe and Botswana will join forces to form a regional project that will allow Zimbabwe to rehabilitate the internal railway line, in the context of regional integration.

Zimbabwe's Minister of Transport and Infrastructure, Felix Mhona, said that since the inauguration of the line in the Mozambican section, his country has been prioritizing this project.

The two ministers and their delegations returned to the Zimbabwean capital on Friday to complete the work on the project.