Lobito – The Angolan minister of Transport Ricardo de Abreu on Tuesday urged the Lobito Atlantic Railway consortium to increase operations in Lobito Corridor in order to facilitate logistics and trade in Southern Africa and beyond regional borders.
Ricardo de Abreu made the statement in Lobito, Benguela province, while speaking at the ceremony for the transfer of the concession of rail and logistics services supporting the Lobito Corridor.
The minister expects the joint venture to produce successful results for the companies and the people of Angola, the Democratic Republic of Congo and Zambia
He assured that the consortium can count on the support of Angola and the Ministry of Transport for building a bright future, creating wealth and developing the continent's economy.
Ricardo de Abreu highlighted that the rich history of Lobito Corridor demonstrates the economic potential it represents for monetization, especially of mineral resources in the geographical area it covers. It is a powerful infrastructure with private investors and financial support from United States, Europe and other parts of the world.
He also looked back on decision of the President of the United States of America, Joe Biden, at the last G7 meeting in Japan, where he expressed his country's interest in investing US$250 million in the Lobito Corridor, through the Development Finance Corporation (DFC).
The minister added that “last week, a delegation from the DFC, led by Nancy Rivera, director of structured financial operations, carried out a “due diligence” on the Angolan legal and regulatory framework, as well as its macro-economic situation and the country's business environment and visited the infrastructures that make up the Lobito Corridor.
“Today, we have this same team in Lobito again, to attend an event that it considers to have a high economic and social impact for the African continent and its populations”, he stressed.
Ricardo de Abreu also mentioned that last week, the European Commission validated the creation of the joint venture created by the Swiss multinational Trafigura, the Belgian Vecturis and the Portuguese Mota-Engil, to manage, maintain and operate the Lobito Corridor, for 30 years, a concession that can be extended up to 50 years, with the construction of a branch link to Zambia. TC/CRB/DOJ
