Prefabricated modular unit manufacturer and erector Kwikspace Modular Build-ings is expected to complete a 730-person camp in Mozambique’s Nacala-a-Velha district, in Nampula province, by October, for a major multinational diversified mining company.

The project is currently 90% complete and Kwikspace was contracted by the mining major in 2012 to provide accommo- dation for senior project staff, engineers, supervisors and labourers working on the Nacala railway corridor project.

The camp will also include an office complex, a large kitchen, ablution facilities, a laundry, a clinic, recreational areas and warehousing facilities for the contracted employees, covering more than more than 10 000 m2.

All the units – made from fully insulated polyurethane-injected panels to enhance temperature control and noise reduction – will be semipermanent structures, built onto concrete slabs and plinths. The units will remain there for the duration of the Nacala rail- way corridor project – currently one of the largest mining and construction projects under way worldwide.

“Kwikspace is extremely pleased to be involved with a project of this magnitude and, considering the number of projects that have taken place in Mozambique over the past five years, we believe our offering will meet the country’s ongoing need for construction camps, mobile buildings and rented accommodation,” says Kwikspace business develop- ment director for Africa Nick Alexander.

He tells Mining Weekly that Kwikspace has registered increased demand for modular buildings from mining companies active in countries across Africa, including Tanzania, Malawi, Zambia, the Democratic Republic of Congo and Mozambique.

As a result of this emerging trend, the company has expanded into Mozambique and opened a factory last year in Moatize, Tete province, with another to be opened in Nacala next month. This factory aims to support the Nacala works and the nearby city of Nampula.

Kwikspace plans to open an additional three to four factories across Southern Africa in the next two years, says Alexander.

In addition to improving the living conditions of workers involved in the Nacala railway corridor project through the provision of housing, he further tells Mining Weekly, the company has sought to invest in local labourers through skills transfer and training, adding that training local workers will remain a priority for Kwikspace.

The Nacala project is aimed at providing a logistics solution for the transport of coal from the Moatize mine, in Tete, through Malawi to the maritime terminal in Nacala, where the coal will be loaded and shipped.

Nacala imports and exports in the northern Mozambique region and is, therefore, pertinent to the economic strength and growth of the country.

As a result of Kwikspace’s work in the Nacala district, it has also been contracted to work on several smaller jobs on the Nacala corridor and has erected two accommodation camps in Malawi, which were completed in March for the Mozambique-based joint venture company constructing the railway.

According to the African Development Bank Group, the range of infrastructure projects across Mozambique, compounded with the country’s increase in coal production, contributed a gross domestic product (GDP) growth of 7.4% in 2012.

It is predicted that the country will maintain similar GDP growth this year.