The project was valued at 4.5 billion dollars, according to the statement released by Mintrans.
The understanding agreement was signed on Sunday, with the next phase being the creation of a working group chaired by the holder of the Transport portfolio, Ricardo Viegas d'Abreu, and composed of those responsible for the National Directorate for the Economy of Concessions, Caminho de Ferro de Luanda, the National Land Transport Agency, and the All-American Rail Group.
The Mintrans statement highlighted that "interconnection with RDCongo will enable the export of oil, wood and minerals to Atlantic countries" and that the project is designed to reinforce Angola's food security, supporting agricultural expansion in the Angolan provinces of north (Uíge, Kwanza-Norte, Bengo, Malanje and Zaire) in "synergy with the logistics platforms of Soyo, Malanje, Luvo and Lombe".
Quoted in the statement, Mustafa Ocalir, member of the Board of Directors of the North American company, highlighted that this memorandum is the first step to support the expansion plan of the Angolan railway network, through the Northern Corridor: "we intend to build and integrate the railway with platforms logistics and with a port in this agricultural region".
The Minister of Transport highlighted that the railway Master Plan "recommends the extension of the three national corridors to the borders with neighboring countries, with the priority objective of enhancing connections to the respective coastal ports, facilitating cross-border trade and boosting the economy real in Angola", he said in the same note.
Ricardo Viegas D'Abreu also pointed out the development potential of the Northern Corridor, which despite ending in Malanje, can extend to the north and east of the country, the most populous regions and "with natural characteristics conducive to the implementation of agribusiness activities, commerce, industry and tourism".
The All-American Rail Group (AARG) is a Houston, Texas-based railroad consortium comprised of six North American rail and infrastructure companies.
In the last five years, AARG and partners have earned 19.7 billion dollars, having built and managed three thousand railway projects in the United States.
The consortium has financing from the Export-Import Bank, in the United States, and should soon open a representative office in Luanda.
The USA recently announced that it will make available one billion dollars to support the development of the Lobito Corridor, which connects Angola, the Democratic Republic of Congo and Zambia.
The topic was one of the highlights of the meeting, on November 30th, between the President, João Lourenço and his North American counterpart, Joe Biden.
Investment in this railway infrastructure, which connects the mineral-rich regions of Zambia and DRCongo to the Angolan port of Lobito, is seen as a North American and European response to the Chinese "One Belt, One Route" initiative, also known as New Silk Road which aims to improve China's international connections.
