This concession will create a Special Purpose Entity (SPE), to be managed by private operators, with minority participation of the State.

LUANDA, ANGOLA, September 13, 2021 /EINPresswire.com/ -- Angolan government opens public tender for the concession of Lobito Corridor

Today, the Government of Angola has opened an opportunity of shared management of the Lobito Corridor to private companies with the launch of an international tender for the concession of the management and maintenance of its railway infrastructure, transport services of goods and logistics. The act has been presided over by the Minister of Transport, Ricardo Viegas D'Abreu, witnessed by the Vice-Governor for the Sector of Political, Social and Economics on behalf of the Governor of the province of Benguela, Lídia Celma Gonçalves Machado Amaro.

It intends to create a private capital company, a Special Purpose Entity (SPE), to be managed by private operators (or by a single entity) and with minority participation of the State.

The SPE will be assigned the following responsibilities:
1. Operating, exploring, and maintaining the Lobito/Luau railway infrastructure (with the possibility of building a branch connecting to Zambia);
2. Rail freight service on the Lobito/Luau railway line;
3. Construction, operation, and exploration of two freight transit terminals supporting the rail freight service on the Lobito/Luau railway, one in Lobito and the other in Luau;
4. Management of the training center in Huambo province, and;
5. Operation, exploration, and maintenance of railway workshops.

The deadline for submitting proposals to the tender is December 7th. The concession has a period of 30 years. The concessionaire (SPE) will assume the transport of large cargoes, minerals, and fuels predominantly. The public transport service for passengers and light cargo will remain under the management of the Benguela Railway.

The concession aims to ensure the maximization and economic enhancement of the Lobito Corridor's railway infrastructure. This initiative, a platform for boosting the provincial and national economies, allows the creation of direct and indirect jobs for Angolan citizens; the increase in Angola's exports; and indirect investments in multimodal platforms, terminals, and other crucial logistics infrastructure along the line which will promote the economic, social and cultural development of local communities by encouraging economic production throughout the concession's perimeter.

The terms of the concession also include the integration of the Porto do Lobito Mineral Terminal.

The reactivation of the Lobito Corridor is also part of the Executive's efforts to strengthen regional integration and materialize the sub-region's commitments, pointing to the future possibility of the Atlantic-Indian interconnection with the connection of the railway to the port of Dar- es-Salaam, Tanzania.

The operation of the Lobito Corridor involves additional investments along the Lobito/Benguela/Luau railway, including, on the one hand, the integration of the contiguous railway across the border in the Democratic Republic of Congo; and on the other, the construction of an extension to the Republic of Zambia.

The Lobito Corridor has been the target of significant investments by the State recently. Around USD 1.9 billion in the railway reconstruction and in the connection with the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). Through this concession, this investment will be recovered.

More information regarding competitors and proposals is available on the website https://www.mintrans-tenders.ao

* Ministry of Transport *, Benguela September 8th, 2021

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