"The container wagons will be delivered in three phases, with the first arriving in Lobito from the fourth quarter of this year", informs the company, in a statement sent to VerAngola.
The new wagons, which will be capable of transporting "containers of 10, 20 and 40 feet in length, providing flexibility to the load transported", are being "made of high-strength steel to increase durability and reduce the weight of each one", which will make it possible to transport higher loads.
Quoted in the statement, the executive director of LAR, Francisco Franca, said that the aforementioned wagons "are compatible with the rolling stock" that exists in the Southern African Development Community (SADC) region.
"The new wagons are compatible with existing rolling stock in the SADC region. They have been manufactured taking into account local railway conditions and to ensure trouble-free transport of critical minerals and other materials for both national and international traffic", he said.
"A team from LAR recently visited Galison Manufacturing's facilities to monitor the start of production of the wagon prototypes that will begin to be delivered later this year", he added.
The company considers this order to be "an important step in the renewal of the railway line and its operational capacity to transport cobalt and copper from the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and Zambia and goods from Lobito to the DRC", the note states.
The order, according to the statement, is part of the investment that was announced at the time of signing the 30-year concession, in November 2022.
