On 21 December 2023, the Pemba Urban Structure Plan – developed with the support of the UK’s Green Cities and Infrastructure Programme (GCIP) – was approved by a majority vote at the Municipal Assembly in Mozambique.
Pemba is a coastal city with a strategic location and an abundance of rich terrestrial and marine resources with high biodiversity. Urbanisation is expected to boom because of internal population movement and the city’s proximity to the exploration of natural gas in Northern Mozambique. This will make it one of the most important cities in the country.
However, Pemba is facing increased climate challenges including a greater incidence of droughts, floods, cyclone activity, seawater intrusion and landslides. These have a disproportionate impact on vulnerable groups such as women and people with disabilities. The city also faces development challenges related to lack of effective urban and land use planning, a shortage of prepared high-quality, financeable infrastructure projects, and poor infrastructure governance.
The bulk of infrastructure in Pemba is still to be built. Planning, land use and infrastructure decisions made today will fundamentally shape the city’s future prosperity, quality of life and climate resilience. This offers a unique opportunity to create a climate-resilient, sustainable city.
Programme support
GCIP aims to support this objective by accelerating responsible, inclusive, climate- resilient growth and poverty reduction. It will facilitate investment into projects which are crucial to climate change adaptation and the delivery of socio-economic development and a low-carbon economic base.
Next steps
The next phase of support from the programme will come through the production of the Strategic Investment Framework, contributing to the development of a strong pipeline of prioritised, sequenced and investible low-carbon and climate-resilient infrastructure projects. These could include a comprehensive water control system to address flooding and erosion and to improve sanitation, water supply and environmental protection; planned urban expansion and regularisation of existing land use; and improved mobility and access through a new ring road and defined public transport terminals. Importantly, the plan sets the stage for strong partnerships to increase institutional capacity, transparency and accountability of infrastructure investments.
The project will also contribute to channelling UK and other financing towards adaptation and resilience in a city that has been severely affected by cyclones, from which it has not yet fully recovered. The Framework is intended to support the city to ‘build back better’, in alignment with its Energy Transition Plan and the Pemba City Urbanisation and Infrastructure Plan. The incoming Mayor of Pemba, Mr. Abdul Satar, welcomed the Urban Structure Plan and has already made the development of the Strategic Investment Framework part of the programme for the first 100 days of his mandate.
“The conclusion of the Urban Structure Plan represents a historic landmark for all Pemba residents.”
Mr. Florete Simba Motarua, Outgoing Mayor of Pemba
The UK’s Green Cities and Infrastructure Programme will accelerate the delivery of sustainable green cities and climate-resilient infrastructure – tackling climate change and extreme poverty.
