A plan to build an oil refinery at Nacala in Mozambique, which was halted due to the 2008 recession, could be revived with the Radyolla Group of Saudi Arabia showing interest in the project
The Radyolla Group has also pledged to build a new pipeline to carry fuel from the central Mozambican port of Beira to landlocked countries such as Zambia, Malawi and even parts of the DR Congo.
The refinery will be expected to reduce Mozambique’s fuel bill, which currently stands at about US$700mn a year, by as much as 50 per cent.
Radyolla chairman and managing director, Abdul Aziz, has signed a memorandum of understanding with the Mozambican government’s Institute for the Management of State Holdings (IGEPE) for proceeding with work on the project.
According to IGEPE chairperson Apolinario Panguene, the memorandum expresses the desire of the two institutions to work together. In addition to the refinery and the pipeline, Radyolla could become a partner of IGEPE in six other projects that were still on the drawing board.
Panguene said, “IGEPE has identified a range of projects to be implemented jointly with other partners, and Radyolla enjoys the advantage of having sufficient financial muscle to help us carry these projects through.
“We have a list of eight projects but not all are at the same level of development. We are thinking of starting with the Beira pipeline, which will carry fuel and make it cheaper for the countries of the hinterland, and the Nacala refinery project.
“We are working on implementing these two projects, while we finalise the design of the other projects in the portfolio,” Panguene added.
