CoM SSA participates in the fourth edition of the Sustainable Mobility Week in Maputo

Maputo celebrated the Sustainable Mobility Week in which Maputo, Matola, and Boane, three CoM SSA signatory cities that make up the metropolitan area of the Mozambican capital, participated.

The main purpose of this Sustainable Mobility Week (SMS-2021) is to create synergies between the different actors involved in mobility to make the Maputo metropolitan area more sustainable.

"This week is already an event expected and celebrated by the actors who participate more or less directly in mobility issues, as well as by the population of the Maputo metropolitan area, who see progress yearly on this long path towards sustainable mobility”, says Joaquín Romero, expert in urban mobility at the Metropolitan Transport Observatory.

The activities were carried out from October 3 to 10 and had the participation of the three CoM SSA signatory cities that form Maputo’s metropolitan area (Maputo, Matola, and Boane) together with the ministries of Transport and State Administration, the Metropolitan Transport Agency (AMT), and international organizations (UN-Habitat, Architects without borders, Barcelona metropolitan area), among others.

Moving towards sustainable mobility

Maputo metropolitan area has a population of approximately three million inhabitants and faces major challenges in its drive to improve metropolitan mobility, such as the rapid growth of its population, the occupation of unplanned peri-urban areas, and a high demand and low availability of transport.

Among the different activities that took place this week, there were debates on matters directly related to sustainable mobility, as well as the new metropolitan reality, which is a new issue on the national agenda. The AECID project manager in charge of CoM SSA in Maputo participated in the debate, about the need to accelerate urban action to build inclusive, sustainable and resilient cities and communities, organized by UN Habitat. She highlighted the importance of having the different metropolitan municipalities working together, the achievements intended to be reached with the development of the joint Sustainable Energy Action and Climate Action Plan (SEACAP) and the creation of an air quality control network for the territory.

Some of the activities carried out throughout the week in the “pedestrianized” Rua de Bagamoyo ©AECID 

According to the Director of Transport for the Municipality of Maputo, Loide Taju, "SMS has become a reference for debating and discussing on mobility issues in the metropolitan area."

With the support of CoM SSA, Maputo seeks to develop a climate action plan and implement concrete actions focused on achieving long-term sustainable urban development. As an example of this, the Municipality of Maputo proposed to AECID that the closure to road traffic of Rua de Bagamoyo, a very successful activity in this Mobility week, could be considered as one of the pilot projects in Maputo to implement within the CoM SSA project.

Since 2019, with the financial support of the European Union (EU) and the Spanish Agency for International Development Cooperation (AECID), the Spanish Agency is implementing the CoM SSA program in several cities in Cabo Verde, Mozambique, Mauritania and Senegal.

Top left: Seminar promoted by UN-Habitat
Top middle: Debate and discussion on the new municipal positions
Middle: Launch of the second phase of rehabilitation of the public space next to the Maputo Central Hospital
Right: Painting of zebra crossings next to schools in the city 
Bottom: Walk in Matola © SMS-2021 committee