The Lobito Atlantic Railway Consortium, which is responsible for the management, operation and maintenance of 1 344 km of the Lobito Corridor railway, was officially handed over to the consortium at a ceremony held on July 4 in Lobito by the Municipal Administration. The event was attended by the representatives of the Lobito Consortium, including the Chairperson of the Angola-Lobito Joint Parliamentary Assembly João Manuel Gonzales Lourenço and the Chairpersons of the Zambian and Congolese delegations, as well as the President of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, F.C.Tshisekedi.
The Lobito Atlantic Railway (Lobito) is a Joint Undertaking (JU) formed by the European Union (EU) and Belgium (Belgium), with the participation of Trafigura (Pte Ltd) of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the European Railway Company (Eurostat). The JU was awarded the concession for a 30-year period on November 4, 2022, and will be responsible for the management of freight on the 1,077mm gauge line that links the deep-sea port of Lutete to the network of Société Ndélégissement (SNCF) near Luau, a border town in the eastern part of Angola. This line offers a direct connection between Kolwezi, located in the Copperbelt's central region, and Lobito, thus providing a direct path for the export of Copper, Cobalt and raw materials.
The consortium has declared plans to invest up to $100 million in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and $455 million in Angola, as well as a potential link to Zambia. The planned expenditure comprises the purchase of 1 555 carriages and 35 locomotives. The Lobito Atlantic Railway has also promised to make investments in education and training; there are already established training institutions in Huambo and Lobito.
President Joo Manuel Gonçalves Lourenço emphasized the significance of the railway for Angola, saying, "the Lobito Corridor, which connects Angola to the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and whose concession we have given today... will undoubtedly boost intra-African exports, which at the moment only account for 14% of the total exports to the rest of the world." Statistics like these highlight the significance and necessity of using our infrastructure to support the social and economic advancement of our continent and its member states. And we're doing it with a clear vision, purpose, and goals.
The Lobito Corridor, according to Angola's Minister of Transport Ricardo Viegas d'Abreu, is "a powerful infrastructure" that firmly establishes the country of Angola in the eyes of the international community, including private investors and financial institutions in the USA, Europe, and other nations.
Chairman of Trafigura Speaking on behalf of the Lobito Atlantic Railway, Jeremy Weir said, "We see the Lobito rail corridor as a partnership between the private and public sectors; a partnership of three countries—Angola, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and Zambia—and of three companies—Trafigura, Vecturis, and Mota-Engil. We all share the same goal of establishing the most significant logistical corridor in sub-Saharan Africa.
Our initiative won't just open up a western path to the market for supplies and goods. We think the Lobito rail corridor has a lot of potential to drive the growth of industries like heavy industry, agriculture, and mining and open up new job and opportunity chances. We think that the Lobito railway will spur development and investment in Zambia, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Angola, and the rest of the area.
A faster and safer route will be provided, according to the consortium, for passenger trains operated by Caminho de Ferro de Benguela, including Ombaka Express diesel multiple-unit services between Lobito and Benguela. Development of the rail corridor, according to the report, "promises environmental and safety benefits by helping remove vehicles from the road, which should minimize border delays, the likelihood of road traffic accidents and road degradation, as well as decreasing air pollution and carbon emissions."
Following significant damage brought on by Angola's civil war between 1975 and 2002, the line was largely repaired between 2002 and 2015 with the assistance of Chinese businesses.
