A $537-million multi-products petrol and diesel pipeline linking Mozambique's Matola oil refinery to Nelspruit in South Africa is expected to be complete by 2009, a top Mozambique oil official said recently. The license to construct and run the pipeline, for an initial period of 25 years renewable to 50 years, has been awarded to a consortium called Petroline Holdings, said Casimiro Francisco, a member of the adiminstrative board of Mozambique's petroleum company, Petromoc. "The whole of next year would be dedicated to engineering studies and financial deals, while construction works will last between 12 and 14 months would start (in 2008)," he said. Mr Francisco said 20% of the project's funding would come from shareholding by various companies, while the remaining 80% will come from loans. Foreign banks, which he could not name, had shown interest in funding the project, he added. Petroline Holdings owns 40% of the project and South Africa's Gigajoule and Woesa have 25 and 20% stakes, respectively; the remaining 15% is owned by Mozambican companies, including Petromoc. The 400-km long project from Matola to Nelspruit, NE of Johannesburg, could be extended in a second phase to South Africa's emerging industrial city of Witbank, halfway between Johannesburg and Nelspruit. The pipeline will have the capacity to transport 5m tons/yr of gasoline and diesel, and the project also includes rehabilitation of the refinery storage tanks in Matola.