Arch of Capricorn Project – PAC012/FSG

The globe is made up of two"imaginary lines"drawn horizontally known as the Tropic of Cancer and the Tropic of Capricorn. These lines are parallel, positioned east-west to the equator, and have specific latitudes: the Tropic of Cancer at 23°27′ (twenty-three degrees and twenty-seven minutes) to the North and the Tropic of Capricorn at 23°27′ (twenty-three degrees and twenty-seven minutes) to the South. Because the lines have the same latitude but are in different hemispheres, it means that both are the same distance from the equator, that is, they have the same equal distance between the extreme north and extreme south of our planet. In this way, everything that lies between the tropics is called inter-tropical, while places positioned north or south of them are called subtropical.

The Arch of Capricorn Project consists in building an infrastructure in the shape of an arch which will physically represent the crossing of the Tropic of Capricorn in Mozambique. Along the lines between the hemispheres our country is crossed by the Tropic of Capricorn in the latitude 2-23.27 degrees, namely in the Province of Inhambane, District of Massinga and for this region it’s located in the inter-tropical region of the Southern Hemisphere, a hot area crossed by the Tropic of Capricorn in the southern part.

It’s predicted that this project will be implemented through a partnership with the local Government, touristic investors and the University Eduardo Mondlane – Faculty of Tourism, in order to create synergies to Protect this intangible heritage, supporting its preservation in a sustainable way, and acting to improve the social and economic conditions of the District of Massinga.

Touristic, cultural, social and economic Potential of the region by building the Arch of Capricorn

With the Arch of Capricorn Project we aim to create a monument which will be a strong focal point to local investments, contributing in this way to the increase of jobs for the local manpower, thus leveraging the tourism and economy, at the same time being a place to support the teaching and learning process in the astronomy area, which can become an object of study and a source of emotional experiences to everyone who visits and enjoys it.

Touristic Potential:through the construction of the arch of Capricorn, there will be a bigger inflow of tourists interested in getting to know one of the areas crossed by the tropics, which will bring positive impact to that region of the country. Among them, the official designation of the area as a world tourist attraction site for its natural heritage.

Cultural Potential: the inflow of people interested in visiting the location, will inevitably enhance the cultural traits of the region, from local habits, handicrafts and gastronomy.

Social Potential: improvement of the roads to ease the flow of tourists, building of services and assets in the area, enabling the building of training centres for the local community, whether they be educational or for professional training and astronomy scientific study centres to answer this new reality, as well as building hospitals or health centres.

Economic Potential: With the construction of this project, economic investments will be inevitable to meet the demand of tourists in the area, infrastructures such as restaurants, fuel stations and hotels, will be built, which implies the creation of local jobs and greater profitability for the local economy and consequently for the country.

Environmental Potential: the construction of the arch will bring a higher inflow of people to that region which means a bigger concern with the issue of environmental conservation and natural preservation of the location, maximizing the actions connected with the environmental protection of its flora and fauna, since the region is crossed by one of the Tropic lines of the globe.