TotalEnergies' liquefied natural gas (LNG) project in Mozambique may resume in the next 18 months after armies from African countries are deployed to help fight insurgency, the president of the African Development Bank (ADB) said Friday, 27.
The French energy giant halted the $20 billion project in April after fighters linked to Islamic State overran the town of Palma in Cabo Delgado province.
At the time, it was estimated that such a measure would delay continuity by at least a year.
Rwandan troops and the Southern African Development Community (SADC) Standby Force were deployed to support Mozambican forces in containing the insurgency in June and since then there have been reports of advances against the insurgents.
Mozambican President Filipe Nyusi said that the army is now retaking the ground in Cabo Delgado.
Last month, security forces from Mozambique and Rwanda recaptured the port city of Mocímboa da Praia, previously a stronghold of the insurgents.
ADB President Akinwumi Adesina told Reuters he did not expect the disruption to affect the long-term viability of the LNG project.
"The return of safety to that site will give assurances for Total and others to come back," Adesina said, adding that "in a year to 18 months, hopefully, it will be stabilized enough to get back on track."
TotalEnergies has not yet commented on Adesina's statement.
The ADB lent $400 million to the project, which is the largest foreign direct investment in Africa and a pillar of Mozambique's economic development strategy.
"We were really worried when Total declared force majeure and had to move. But you can understand, because of the unsafe situation," the ADB president added.
On the other hand, Akinwumi Adesina acknowledged that insecurity still restricts investments in other parts of Africa, pointing to conflict zones in Chad, Mali, Burkina Faso, northern Nigeria, and Cameroon.
He said that the ADB is creating facilities, including security-indexed investment bonds, to help African countries combat insecurity and rebuild after the unrest.
"Without security, you cannot have investment and you cannot have development," he concludes.