[2][3] The natural deep harbour serves landlocked Malawi with a 931-kilometre (578 mi) railway.

The infrastructure belongs to the Mozambican government, which is responsible for its administration through the public-private joint venture company "Integrated Northern Logistical Corridor Society" (CLIN).

[4] In January 2016 a coal terminal was completed in the town of Nacala-a-Velha, across the bay from the commercial port, and exports coal from the Moatize mine in western Mozambique.

The railway system also connects Nampula, Malema, and Cuamba.

The Mozambique government and Vale jointly created the Integrated Northern Logistical Corridor Society, to rehabilitate most of the existing line and build greenfield sections, a work completed in 2017, to export coal from mines in western Mozambique.