| Caia, Mozambique | |
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Caia, Mozambique
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| Coordinates: | |
| Country | Mozambique |
| Provinces | Sofala Province |
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Caia is a town on the south bank of the Zambezi River in Sofala Province, Mozambique. It is a relatively small town with few modern facilities besides a petrol station managed by a Portuguese couple and the neighboring bank. Caia and surrounding communities have been experiencing an escalating HIV/AIDS epidemic, drawing national and foreign aid to the area, including a Canadian foundation called the Caia Connection based in Vila de Sena, 57.6 Kilometers north of Caia.[1]
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In march, 2007 construction commenced on what would be the longest road bridge to span the Zambezi. The bridge over the Zambezi was officially opened on 1 August 2009, and was, with some controversy, named after the current president of Mozambique, Armando Emilio Guebuza.[2] With a length of 2376 metres and width of 16 m it will be longer than the bridges at Tete and Katima Mulilo, exceeded only by the Dona Ana Bridge, which has been restored as a rail only bridge. The anticipated bridge was crucial in linking the Sofala Province and the Zambezia Province.[3] The Caia bridge cost an estimated US$80 million.[4].
Caia also has an airport with a 900-metre paved runway, and is a station on the railway from Beira via the Dona Ana Bridge to Malawi, Moatize and Tete, which was the damaged in the Mozambique Civil War and is currently being rehabilitated.