The Angolan Minister of Transport, Ricardo de Abreu, stated, in the city of Lobito, on the sidelines of the meeting of the Transport and Trade Facilitation Agency, that Angola is satisfied with the first signs of dynamics, within the scope of the management of the Corridor
Ricardo de Abreu cites as examples of the first signs of dynamics the agreement between Angola, Zambia and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and the signing of the concession contract for the Multipurpose Terminal, whose operation begins in January.
After the tripartite meeting of the Transport and Commerce Facilitation Agency for the Lobito corridor, minister Ricardo de Abreu assured that the Lobito Atlântic Railway, the consortium of three management companies, is already working and the government official projects 2024 as the year to begin to feel the impact of the work carried out by the Angolan Government.
To the signing of the concession for the management of the Multipurpose Terminal at the Commercial Port of Lobito, Minister Ricardo de Abreu also adds the State visit that the President of the Republic, João Lourenço, recently made to the United States, in which he reaffirmed his the North American commitment to this Corridor.
The financing to be done, both by the United States of America and the European Union, will be summarized in two areas, namely the expansion of the corridor (guaranteeing the railway connection between Angola and Zambia, and improving infrastructure in the Republic Democratic Republic of the Congo) and the road project in telecommunications.
“There is a huge opportunity here for the development of these infrastructures to facilitate trade and economic growth. And, in this area, we have this support through an agreement signed in Brussels between the three countries and also American support, the European Union and the South African Development Bank”, he stated.
According to the government official, there is also an interest expressed by the World Bank in financing a set of infrastructures that can make an indirect contribution to the development of the corridor, particularly in the logistics field.
“There are other initiatives in other sectors of the economy, particularly agribusiness, industry and services. We think we are on the right path to ensuring that this Corridor can, in fact, bring benefits to our three countries, but also to the region and the world”, he projects.
DRC and Zambia reiterate commitments DRC guarantees that it is taking several steps towards the revitalization of the Lobito Corridor.
The representative of the Minister of Transport of this country, Roger TE-Biasu, recalls that in 1960 the Corridor appeared as the route for the flow of minerals from his country to Europe and even to the Americas.
In this sense, the Congolese Government has a series of projects, which is why it is rehabilitating and building new infrastructure to support the economic corridor.
“For this very reason, the people of the DRC are satisfied with the reopening of this Lobito corridor”, highlighted the Congolese leader, in statements to the press, moments following the tripartite meeting.
It is recalled that the president of the DRC, Félix Tshisekede, had revealed, in Lobito, at the signing ceremony of the concession for the management of the Lobito Corridor, that in his country just over 200 kilometers of railway line needed to be rehabilitated.
On the Zambian side, as its minister of transport, Museba Frank Tayili, also explained to the press, significant advances were also recorded, mainly in the Northwest part of the country, which is the Copebelt region, where there is the existence of minerals to be transported to the along the corridor.
Zambia reiterates its commitment to the Corridor. The government official maintains that, on December 14th of this year, the Zambian parliament ratified a document related to the corridor, within the scope of that country’s SADC integration.
“And this is an important step in the integration and involvement of Zambia in this entire process of the Lobito corridor.
We can say that Zambia is committed to the development of the Corridor and advances in work on the challenges that lie ahead”, he considers.
