Popularly referred to as MozParks, it is the leading developer and operator of industrial parks in Mozambique located in southern Africa. According its documents, it is a Public Private Partnership (PPP) between the Mozambican Government Agency for Investment and Export Promotion (APIEX) and private investors. It is the holding company for the Beluluane Industrial Park in Boane and the newly developed Topuito Industrial Park in Nampula.
During the US – Africa Business Summit on July 19-22, 2022, in Marrakech, Morocco, held under the patronage of the King of Morocco, Onorio Manuel, MozParks General Manager together with Silvino Moreno, Minister of Industry and Commerce of Mozambique, were searching for investors to develop MozParks. The summit was the right place at the right time simply because it attracted policy makers, private senior executives, and leaders of key organizations from the United States and many African countries to Marrakech.
The participants gathered under theme “Building Forward Together” used as an opportunity to renew the multifaceted ties and scale up commitments between the United States and Africa. Much focus is on trade, investment and commerce. Together they were finding solutions in response to recent economic and health challenges, according to the programme of the summit.
On 20th July, the Building a Sustainable Food Ecosystem panel discussion explored the possibilities for public and private sectors to contribute to the creation of a sustainable agribusiness ecosystem and highlighted the significance of the vast resources African countries have available to achieve this goal.
Silvino Moreno, Minister of Industry and Commerce of Mozambique, one of the moderators at this discussion, talked about the necessity of creating agro-industrial value chains in Mozambique, which would make a big impact on sustainable development of the national economy. “With the increasing productivity of raw agricultural produce, the national agro processing should take care of preserving the food and delivering good quality products to consumers,” he said. Moreno also mentioned the importance of keeping the balance between exporting food produce and fulfilling the needs of the internal market.
Onorio Manuel, MozParks General Manager, in his speech to the audience of the Invest in Mozambique Session, presented the services that MozParks offers to its agribusiness tenants. That includes the incentives and advantages of SEZ, IFZ for Industrial Parks and Agro-Park Development in Mozambique.
He outlined the current policies that favour private investment and creating SMEs which will be illustrated by MozParks experience and achievements in the industry. “We choose locations for our industrial parks with a view of growing value chain economies with a special focus on creating employment opportunities for local communities,” said Manuel.
Over the last 22 years, MozParks has brought the Industrial Park Development in Mozambique to a level of international standards making it globally competitive. Currently, it hosts industrial and service companies from 17 countries. The strategic locations of the parks provide business opportunities for SMEs to grow around industrial giants and Megaprojects like Mozal Aluminium Smelter in Maputo Province and Kenmare Titanium Minerals Mine in Nampula Province.
MozParks has been addressing the task of developing and managing Agro-Industrial parks and Special Economic Zones. Topuito Agro-Industrial Park in Nampula has already opened its site to customers. MozParks is planning to develop four (4) new Agro-Industrial Parks in Cabo-Delgado Province within the next five (5) years. With an approximate population of 30 million, Mozambique is endowed with natural resources. It is a member of the Southern Africa Development Community (SADC) and the African Union (AU).
