The construction of the pipeline - which will link Lobito, in Benguela province, to Lusaka, in Zambia - was made official Thursday night with the signing of a memorandum of understanding.
However, the pipeline will only start being built when feasibility studies are concluded. According to Angop, the analysis will be carried out by technicians from both countries and will take about two years to be concluded.
The feasibility studies, which will be polished by Sonangol and a company to be indicated by Zambia, will analyze issues related to the environment, economy, technical aspects, among others. When the two years of analysis are over, the conclusions will be sent to the two governments that will define if it is viable or not to go ahead with the implementation of the pipeline.
If the project goes ahead, the construction of the pipeline should generate between eight and 12 thousand jobs in both countries. The information was advanced by Mathew Nkuwa, Zambia's energy minister, at the end of the signing of the memorandum.
"Once implemented, the pipeline project, which will have several lines, may create up to four thousand permanent jobs in Angola and Zambia," he said.
In his turn, the Minister of Mineral Resources, Oil and Gas, Diamantino Azevedo, who was also present at the agreement signing ceremony, considered that Angola has an important role in making this project a reality, despite recognizing that the responsibility lies with both countries.
Diamantino Azevedo said that the protagonists of the project are Angola and Zambia, but said that the two countries are available to receive contributions from other members of the Southern African Development Community (SADC), foreseeing that the pipeline will be important for the region.
