Palma — The small, palm-fringed fishing town of Palma was meant to become a symbol of Mozambique’s glittering future, transformed by one of the world’s largest liquefied natural gas projects. But construction has fallen far behind schedule and the town’s fate is uncertain after gas prices fell and the government became engulfed in a $2bn debt scandal. Tucked between the turquoise waters of the Indian Ocean and thick tropical forests, Palma remains a sleepy village of 3,000 people, still waiting for the promised arrival of new jobs and infrastructure. The discovery of gas reserves in 2010, estimated at 180-trillion cubic feet (five trillion cubic metres) in the surrounding Rovuma Basin, was the biggest natural gas find in recent decades. Experts have predicted that Mozambique could become the world’s third-largest exporter of liquefied natural gas (LNG) — and an African version of wealthy Qatar. Plans to exploit the reserves moved fast, and Palma’s residents were soon looking for opp...
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