An African corridor to prosperity [and coal fired global warming!]

(African Law & Business, London, 7 December 2017) London's Linklaters & US firm White & Case, together with local law firms, have shared the plaudits in agreeing financing of the US$4 billion Nacala Corridor rail and port project, which spans Mozambique & Malawi. It involves Brazil's Vale & Japan's Mitsui and will enable the construction, refurbishment and operation of nearly 1000 kilometres of railway line, as well as the construction and operation of a coal terminal in the port of Nacala, linking Vale’s coal project in Tete Province, in western Mozambique home to some of the world’s richest remaining coal deposits, with a deep sea port to be constructed in Nacala – the so-called Nacala Corridor, in eastern Mozambique. Banks involved in the deal, who were advised by Linklaters, included the African Development Bank (AfDB), Export Credit Insurance Corporation of South Africa (ECIC), Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC) and Nippon Export and Investment Insurance (NEXI) together with ECIC and NEXI covered commercial banks.