According to a note published on the website The China-Lusofhone Brief, competing in the international public tender - which provides for the operation of the 1,334-kilometer railway and its reconstruction at a cost of two billion dollars - are a Chinese company, one from the United States and another from Germany.
The CFB connects the port of Lobito to Luau (Moxico) and from there goes to the Democratic Republic of Congo as far as Zambia. Therefore, the "winner of the bidding will have to invest heavily to rehabilitate the infrastructure and trains," the statement said.
According to the statement, the quality of the roads, railways and ports continue to be an impediment to the country's development, despite the major investments that have been made over the past 10 years. However, "a new government plan could resolve some constraints, according to a recent study by Eaglestone Scurities consultants.
The website also reveals that since 2002 major investments have been made in the rehabilitation of roads, railways, ports and airports. "Public finance data suggests that the government has spent more than $38 billion on transport infrastructure during 2002 and 2018, with about 70 percent invested in roads, averaging $2.3 billion per year and 2.4 percent of GDP," the note indicates.
Most of the investments were financed by Chinese credit lines, which helped to rebuild and rehabilitate the country's infrastructure, but the quality of the infrastructure remains a challenge to the country's development and "hinders the movement of people and goods in the country," the statement adds.
