The builders of the railway between Moatize and Macuse in central Mozambique will make it 120km longer than they originally planned, Notícias reports.

The Maputo newspaper says mining companies asked the builders, a consortium of Mota-Engil of Portugal and China National Complete Engineering Corp., to extend the railway.

The report says the railway will be extended to reach the Chitima region for the convenience of the miners.

Banks will lend the builders money for the extension, which will cost nearly US$2.39 billion. The work is due to begin in 2018 and take 44 months, Notícias says.