The Government of Mozambique will import 70 train carriages from China this year to improve public transportation in the country, said the Minister of Transport and Communications, Carlos Mesquita.

Mr Mesquita was speaking at a parliamentary hearing on the Government’s Economic and Social Plan, conducted by the Committee on Agriculture, Economy and Environment.

The new carriages will be deployed on the Sena railway line – which runs from Moatize, in Tete province, to the port of Beira, capital city of Sofala province – said the Minister, quoted by local news agency AIM.

Mr Mesquita stated the extra carriages would allow more frequent services to be run, and more passengers to be carried per service.

At the hearing, the Minister also revealed that the Government would import more than 300 buses from China, 80 of which would be donated to Mozambique by the Chinese Government.