MAPUTO– Mozambican President Filipe Nyusi has formally inaugurated the Baia Mall, the largest shopping centre in the country.
Built on the Maputo Coast Road, the mall covers 30,000 square metres, and has space for more than 100 shops and restaurants.
The partners in the project are the Automobile and Touring Club of Mozambique (ATCM), which holds the rights to the land, the South African private equity company Actis (which holds 80 per cent of the shares), and the real estate company RPP Development (which holds the other 20 per cent). The total investment in the mall is put at 96 million US dollars.
According to the chairperson of ATCM, Antonio Marques, ownership of the mall will be gradually transferred to ATCM so that, after 50 years, it will own 100 per cent of the undertaking.
The mall managers claim that Baia Mall will generate about 2,000 direct jobs, and many more indirect jobs in the whole value chain supporting the shopping centre, with 95 per cent of these jobs expected to go to Mozambicans.
Nyusi declared that the investment was evidence of confidence that “Mozambique, with its hard working people, oriented towards production is viable. This supports our affirmation that Mozambique is back.
He was pleased to see Mozambican chickens and vegetables from the Maputo green zone on the shelves of the supermarkets, and Mozambican dishes on the menus of some of the restaurants. He challenged Mozambican farmers and other producers to supply goods of the quality required by the retailers in this mall.
Source: NAM NEWS NETWORK