The Ministry of Public Works, Housing and Water Resources, has just announced in a statement that it will rehabilitate National Road No. 4, also known as Maputo-Witbank, in section 17, which runs from the Mozal junction to North Tchumene, in the municipality of Matola.

The laying of the first stone will be done today by the respective minister, Carlos Mesquita.

The section to be widened is the most critical on that road connecting Mozambique and South Africa, especially during rush hours and on weekends.

The planned expansion is a response to a growing demand by users of the road, confronted on the Mozambican side with its precariousness and more intense traffic on account of trucks carrying minerals from Mpumalanga for export via the Port of Maputo.

In November of last year, TRAC announced that this expansion would begin in the second half of 2022. The announcement was made, at the time, by TRAC's PCA, Van Niekerke. He announced that an investigation was also underway into the sidewalk on the section from Ressano Garcia to Moamba, on the grounds that it was not in good condition.

"We intend to improve it or rebuild it in some places, and where there is a need, overtaking lanes will be built, but the Novare-Tchumene project will be the first to start," Van Niekerk said at the time, quoted by The Letter.

It should be noted that TRAC's contract with the Mozambican government ends in December 2026.