Ethos Asset Management Inc., USA, and Thai Mozambique Logística (TML) have announced a long-term agreement worth $400 million to finance the construction of a port and railroad on the Macuse River off the coast of Zambezia province.

According to the CEO of Ethos Asset Management, Carlos Santos, the project will undoubtedly be a key agent of social and economic change for the benefit of the communities in Mozambique, and neighboring Zambia, Zimbabwe, and Malawi.

"The Project will be one of the largest infrastructures in Africa, with a total investment cost estimated at about three billion dollars," he said.

The project foresees the construction of a multipurpose port designed for the export and import of dry bulk, agricultural products, general cargo, and liquid bulk.

The Macuse Port was conceived in 2013 as part of "The Moatize Macuse Rail and Port Project" (the Project) to be developed as an integrated logistics corridor.

The first phase, which will deal with the construction of the port, will handle multi-product cargo, such as wood chips, fertilizer, grain and fuel, and will be able to accommodate ships of 65,000 DWT (deadweight tons) capacity.

In the second phase, the port will be expanded to handle more bulk cargo, such as other minerals from Tete and the Copperbelt region, as well as being able to transport people and goods.

Thai Mozambique Logistica CEO Virat Kongmaneerat said the Ethos funding is a vote of confidence not only in the viability of the Project, but also in the investment climate in Mozambique for foreign investors.