Mozambique: The marks of time on Avenida das Indústrias

It once enjoyed unrivalled prominence. It was, in the past, home to some of the greatest symbols of Mozambique’s industrial capacity. Avenida das Indústrias, in the municipality of Matola, Maputo province, was, for decades, one of the country’s main industrial corridors. It was home to factories that provided thousands of jobs and supplied the market with products manufactured locally.

Companhia Vidreira de Moçambique, Caju de Moçambique, Zuid, Fibriclass [Fibreglass], Pintex, Mobilarte, Embalagens de Moçambique (Metal Box), FACOL – Fábrica de Colas e Adesivos de Moçambique, Metal África, Comec and Pro-Caju are just some of the names that left their mark on the industrial sector along that corridor. Decades later, many of these names survive only in collective memory and as geographical landmarks, associated, for example, with passenger transport stops.

Indeed, the current scene contrasts sharply with the dynamism of bygone years. Where industrial activity once thrived, all that remains are dilapidated buildings, ruins and premises left abandoned, while other facilities have been repurposed for new activities, particularly commerce, whose capacity to absorb labour is nowhere near that once provided by the former factories.

Companhia Vidreira de Moçambique, or simply Vidreira, founded in 1958 and described as the only facility of its kind in the country, is one of the industrial enterprises that still retains architectural features from the colonial period. Its imposing presence, however, contrasts with the silence surrounding the site since 1999, the year it ceased operations, leaving 523 workers in uncertainty.

Even so, those who once worked there still nurture the dream of seeing the so-called “sleeping giant” resume operations. That hope, however, is no longer linked to the return of the former workers, many of whom have already been overtaken by time. The wish is that any possible resumption of operations could create opportunities for new generations, particularly young people facing difficulties in accessing employment.

Source: Domingo