The government of Angola plans to launch an international tender in the next two months calling for bids for the concession of the Moçâmedes Railway, which is part of its transport corridor, also known as the Southern Corridor.
The Moçâmedes Railway is an 860 km railway line in Angola, between Moçâmedes and Menongue. This development comes after the concession of the Lobito Corridor, linking Zambia and the DRC.
Secretary of State for Land Transport, Jorge Bengue, revealed that Angola will use the experience gained from the Lobito concession process to launch the tender for the Moçâmedes Railway.
Major strides have been made on the Lobito Corridor with major feasibility studies already completed and the financial structuring phase underway, Bengue said.
The Lobito Corridor consists of a 1300 km railway line from the port of Lobito to Luau on Angola’s northeastern border with the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and the North-Western Province of Zambia. The Benguela Railway, the major rail infrastructure on the Lobito Corridor, will undergo a major revamp.
Bengue said the Moçâmedes Corridor concession includes the management and operation of the railway line linking the interior of Huíla province to the port of Namibe, with a future planned interconnection with Namibia and the redevelopment of the port of Namibe, transforming it into a regional logistics platform.
He said the company that will be awarded the tender will have the option of connecting Angola with Namibia. Angola has embarked on the 2023-2028 Railway Sector Development Programme, at a cost of US$12.2 billion, under Public-Private Partnerships (PPPs).
Bengue said the corridor concessions are part of Angola’s plans to enhance its logistics and transport hubs, with the aim of making the Southern Corridor a driver of industrial and mining development.
The plan includes six railway concessions on the Benguela Railway (CFB), part of the Lobito Corridor and concessioned to Lobito Atlantic Railway, the Moçâmedes Railway (CFM) and the Luanda Railway (CFL).
The Lobito Corridor will mainly cater for minerals from DRC and Zambia, transporting copper, cobalt, and other essential goods via the Lobito Port, while the Southern Corridor is more geared towards the movement of freight resulting from domestic production, particularly large-scale mining.
Bengue further disclosed that the government is upgrading and expanding the port of Namibe, which will eventually provide an interconnection with Namibia.
The expansion of Port Namibe is expected to enable Angola to diversify its economy, reducing its dependency on oil.
