The Economic Association of Malawi defends the need to accelerate the project of railway connection with Mozambique, through the Sena line.

The materialization of this project will alleviate, according to businessmen in Malawi, the cost of road transport to the country, considered the highest in the region. One ton is equivalent to ten dollars, against the recommended seven dollars.

Speaking at the meeting that the economic association held with the minister of finance, Felix Mlusu, in the city of Lilongwe, Elias Ngalande, one of the members of the association, said that the time had come for the government to invest in rail transport.

In response, Malawi's finance minister said that the government is mobilizing funding for the rehabilitation of the country's railways, and pointed to the Blantyre - Nsanje to Vila Nova de Fronteira link project in Mutarara, Mozambique, as a priority.

In 2017, Malawi adopted a master plan for the transport sector to be implemented over a 20-year period.

The document indicates that to realize the plan, the country needs more than $9.15 billion.

It is known that on the Mozambican side, rehabilitation work is already underway on 45 kilometers of road linking Nhamayabue to Vila Nova de Fronteira, in the district of Mutarara, which will give access to Nsanje, in Malawi, the first stone of which was laid by the Mozambican statesman, Filipe Nyusi.

The line is of extreme importance for Malawi, which wants to export sugar to Europe through the port of Beira.

In the second phase, Malawi promises to establish Beira-Lilongwe rail communication, and is currently mobilizing funds from its traditional international cooperation partners.

Malawi imports through the Ports of Nacala and Beira basic foodstuffs, fertilizers, fuels, construction material, and others, using road transportation.