Mozambique Infrastructure ~ New Rail & Port...

Having just read again Paul Collier's The Bottom Billion, and coming to appreciate the poverty trap of being landlocked with bad neighbors, it's heartening to read in the BBC that Mozambique to build coal railway...

"...link the coal-rich northern Moatize mines to Nacala port by 2015. [...] the railway is part of Mozambique's plan to become a regional trans-shipment route. Its three key ports -- Maputo, Beira and Nacala -- are strategically important to Mozambique's neighbours, especially landlocked Malawi, Zambia and Zimbabwe, as well as parts of South Africa."

Given Collier, this is an enlightened move and puts this interesting country in the spotlight again. Mozambique is an ex-Portuguese colony but, unusually and intriguingly, is a member of The Commonwealth. This aspiration for greater integration is excellent and one I hope The Commonwealth will embrace further as it enters its next 60 years and beyond. Finally, the role of Brazilian giant Vale in developing the Moatize mines is an emergent element of post-colonial engagement among the Lusophone countries.