On the sidelines of the Corporate Council for Africa's US-Africa Business Summit, “Angola and the United States of America celebrated the signing of financing agreements for projects in the Republic of Angola financed by EXIM Bank for the development of the Lobito Corridor, the main beneficiary of the Global Investment and Infrastructure Partnership (PGI)", says a statement from the presidency.
The signed agreements are intended "to finance three important infrastructure projects linked to the Lobito Corridor, and also target investments in clean energy, connectivity and radio signal expansion, and transport infrastructure, representing a significant commitment from the US Government in supporting the Angolan Government's economic investment priorities in various sectors", the statement added.
The first agreement, valued at US$907 million, aims to build two solar energy plants through the American company Sun Africa, with the capacity to generate more than 500 megawatts of renewable energy for Angola's national grid, and is the EXIM Bank's largest project in the renewable energy sector. The document was signed by Vera Daves, as Minister of Finance, by Rita Jo Lewis, president of Eximkbank and by the head of ING Capital Bank, Gemma Bae. This represents EXIM Bank's largest project in the renewable energy sector.
The second document refers to the construction of 186 metal bridges, which encompass a project valued at US$450 million, says Angop. This was also signed by the head of Finance, Rita Jo Lewis from Eximbank, and Bayo Omole, from Chartered Bank.
The third and final agreement signed this Tuesday in Dallas has to do with expanding the signal of Rádio Nacional de Angola, with the assistance of GatesAir, to increase radio coverage for 95 percent of the Angolan population. With a budget of 40 million dollars, it was signed by Vera Daves, Jurgen Ziegler and Inácio Ramiro, from Deutche Bank.
U.S. Export-Import Bank President Reta-Jo Lewis "highlighted the institution's commitment to increasing investment in sub-Saharan Africa, reinforcing that these agreements represent the largest U.S.-backed PGI financing packages for any country since beginning of the initiative".
For Reta-Jo Lewis, these investments are aligned with EXIM Bank's mission, which is to support US exporters doing business in the sub-Saharan African region.
The Lobito Corridor may have an annual contribution to the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in the order of 1.5 billion dollars to three billion dollars, according to data that has been advanced, and is a fundamental link for the export of crucial materials for the energy transition, namely natural resources used to build electric vehicles.
All agreements were signed on the sidelines of the 16th US-Africa Business Summit, which takes place in the city of Dallas, US state of Texas, until Thursday. More than 1,500 guests participated, including heads of State and Government from several African countries and businesspeople from the United States of America and Africa.
Angola is represented at the summit by the President of the Republic, João Lourenço, and by several ministers representing the sectors of commerce, health, information and communication technologies, energy, investments and agriculture in Angola.
