The city being built near the natural gas projects in Cabo Delgado in the north of Mozambique will cost at least €1.5 billion and have 150,000 inhabitants, the entity in charge of the project said yesterday.
The estimated 150,000 residents of the city include the 15,000 people currently living on the Afungi peninsula in Cabo Delgado, Lorenzo Monti, a representative of Italian company Renco Energy and project director of the future ‘gas city’ says.
The city master plan commissioned by the National Hydrocarbon Company (ENH), the state partner in the megaprojects, was presented at the 6th Mozambique Gas Summit in Maputo yesterday.
The plan foresees 1,200 hectares (ha) of residential areas, a 3,800 ha industrial area, 2,300 ha for agriculture, 8,000 ha for green areas and 214 ha for tourist infrastructure, making 15,500 hectares in total.
The city will be sited close to the natural gas liquefaction units driving the development of the entire zone and based on investments worth around US$50 billion (€45.4 billion) by oil companies Total, Exxon Mobil. and Eni, and which should place Mozambique among the world’s leading producers of liquefied natural gas (LNG).
Construction work is expected to start before gas extraction and liquefaction begin in 2025 and to progress gradually through to 2050, Monti said.
The city will have 50 to 60 kilometres of electricity distribution network and 300 to 400 kilometres of water mains, along with a purification plant and pumping station. The water infrastructure will have the capacity to supply 25,000 to 30,000 cubic meters per day.
The construction of a wastewater collection network and a solid waste separation, recycling and recovery facility is also planned.
Public buildings housing health, education, security and other services, as well as dozens of kilometres of road network, complete the project.
The industrial zone will be divided into four areas: one for the operation of a power plant, another for a petrochemical plant that will produce fuel, one for fertilisers and one for suppliers’ warehouses.
The Gas City Master Plan also foresees a 214 ha tourist area, with a maximum capacity of 15 hotel units and 500 square metres of apartments.
“The Gas City Master Plan is guided by five values: economic and social development; attraction of national and international investors; respect for the environment, nature and communities; development of infrastructure, industries and tertiary activities; and the establishment of a model of sustainable development,” the project director said.