The concession contract for the Lobito corridor was signed between the Executive, through the Ministry of Transport, and the consortium of companies Trafigura Group, Vecturis, and Mota-Engil, Engenharia e Construção África, which over the next 30 years will assume the operation, exploration and maintenance of rail freight as well as maintenance of all infrastructure along the corridor.
"The value of the award for signing this concession is 100 million dollars, in line with the amount of other concessions in the transport sector in Angola, having made it possible to differentiate competitors based on their financial capacity in view of the size of the assets in question" , says the document.
The signing took place after several postponements throughout the day, to review the amount to be invested by the consortium, considered low by the Angolan authorities.
"We looked a lot at the issue of the value of the investment to be made by the private consortium and we reached an agreement, naturally it was beneficial for us because the value was lower, it is one of the issues that was discussed and we managed to reach this agreement", said Eugénio Fernandes, national director for the Economy of Concessions at the Ministry of Transport, at a press conference.
Fernandes said that of the 100 million dollars received, 40 percent goes to the Single Treasury Account and the remaining 60 percent to some activities and projects that the Transport Ministry has in its portfolio.
According to the official, it was a good deal, because with the investment made by the consortium, the State will be able to use these resources for other activities, namely health and education.
"For us it is a good investment without forgetting that there is a signature premium that the State receives of 100 million dollars, which will also allow the Ministry of Transport to have this amount to apply in other projects", he reiterated.
In turn, the representative of the consortium, Alexandre Canas, stressed that a total investment of 450 million dollars will be made, of which 170 million dollars will be invested in locomotives and wagons alone.
"Because today there are not enough wagons in Angola to reach the volumes we want to reach, the infrastructures that will cost 166 million dollars", he said.
For the consortium spokesman, the Lobito corridor will create many jobs and "it is a vein that will fill with blood and a lot of energy, which will create a lot of social life around this corridor".
Alexandre Canas stressed that there are five corridors in Africa and it is a challenge for the consortium to make the Lobito corridor "competitive in order to attract cargo to Lobito, because today the cargo goes to other corridors".
"And the day that the Lobito corridor starts to work, the other runners will also want to win in competitiveness and then it will be a struggle and constant work", he observed.
The official said that the Ministry of Transport intends to link the Benguela Railway to the Luanda Railway, with the process of refurbishing the Zenza from Itombe to Cacuso, which is 215 kilometers from the Luanda Railway, already underway, underlining the need for improvements in the Luanda Railroad in order to effect this interconnection.
With the rents negotiated, the State will collect, in each period of 10 years: 319.4 million dollars up to the 10th year, 787.4 million dollars between the 11th and 20th years, and 919 million dollars in the last 10 years.
