The President of the Republic arrived this Monday in the province of Benguela to witness the transfer of rail and logistical support services for the Lobito corridor to the consortium that will manage the infrastructure, under a concession for 30 years.
The presidents Hakainde Hichilema, from Zambia, and Félix Antoine Tshisekedi, from the DRCongo were also invited to the ceremony that marks the start of the concession of this strategic railway corridor to connect the mining regions and export of goods, which connects Lobito (eastern Angola ) to Luau (west), close to the border with DRC.
Construction of a branch line to Zambia is also planned.
In January, the three countries signed an agreement to create a transport and facilitation agency for the Lobito Corridor, to streamline the movement of goods and promote the mobility of citizens.
The Lobito corridor concession was handed over to LAR - Lobito Atlantic Railway, a company formed by the Swiss Trafigura, the Portuguese Mota-Engil Engenharia e Construção África SA, and the Belgian Vecturis SA, which signed the contract with the Ministry of Transport, in November last year in Luanda.
The Lobito Corridor covers the port of Lobito, the mining terminal and the Benguela Railway (CFB), which stretches over 1,300 kilometers from Benguela province to Luau, in Moxico province.
It then continues for another 400 kilometers in the DRCongo to Kolwezi, the heart of the mining area known as the Copperbelt, and is directly connected to the railway network managed by the National Railway Society of Congo (SNCC).
To kick off the concession, LAR has an estimated investment of 455 million dollars in Angola and up to 100 million dollars in the DRC.
Making the most of the railway's potential implies, for the time being, the acquisition of 1555 wagons and 35 locomotives destined to circulate on the Angolan side of the corridor.
The concession contract can be extended for up to 50 years, if the consortium chooses to build the railway branch between Luacano (Moxico) and Jimbe (Zambia), covering a total length of 259 kilometres, valued at 3.6 million dollars per kilometre.
