Mozambique’s state-controlled sea and river transportation company, Transmarítima SA, has launched a public tender to hire a private partner. The aim is to develop a shipping service along the country’s coast, Mozambican newspaper Notícias reported last week.

According to the media outlet, the Mozambican government hopes to promote coastal shipping services within the nation as a way to reduce traffic on national roads. The government also hoped such a service could help reduce prices of products, the newspaper added.

The Mozambican government has approved recently a new regulation that opens to foreign investors coastal shipping services in the country, the newspaper noted. The government has also been studying a set of protocols aimed at attracting foreign companies into that business.