Good afternoon. Joaquim Chissano Avenue has reopened after three years of disruption from drainage and sanitation works. That is good news for Maputo. The project expands the city's sewerage network, should improve sanitation for around 12,000 families, and forms part of a wider programme to reduce flooding and improve the functioning of the city centre.
The investment is worthwhile. Better drainage means fewer floods, lower health risks and a city that functions more efficiently. Businesses can operate more reliably, residents spend less time dealing with the aftermath of heavy rain, and infrastructure itself lasts longer.
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But projects like this should also prompt another question. Not whether they should happen, but how long they should take.
The disruption extended well beyond a single road. Sewerage works affected sections of Joaquim Chissano, while the wider drainage improvements disrupted some of the busiest routes linking Maputo's downtown with the upper city. Every extra month under construction imposed a cost. Journeys took longer, fuel consumption increased, deliveries became less reliable, and businesses lost customers. Those costs rarely appear in project accounts, but they are paid by the economy nonetheless.
