The government of Angola has sealed a deal with a consortium of Trafigura, Mota-Engil Engineering and Construction Africa, and Vecturis, Belgium, to o
The government of Angola has sealed a deal with a consortium of Trafigura, Mota-Engil Engineering and Construction Africa, and Vecturis, Belgium, to operate rail services and offer logistical support for the Lobito corridor.
The deal which involves a 30-year concession has tasked the consortium the responsibility of operating, managing and maintaining the infrastructure. Lobito corridor runs for approximately 1290km from Luau on the eastern border with Democratic Republic of Congo to Lobito Port on the Atlantic Coast.
Lobito corridor
The rail is used for the transportation of goods, minerals, liquids and gases. The consortium will invest $US 170m in improving the capacity and safety of the corridor” and also $US 170m in rolling stock for operation. The concessionaire will pay $US 319.4m to the Angolan state in the first 10 years of the contract, $US 787m in the second 10 years, and $US 919m in the final 10 years.
The concessionaire will construct freight terminals in Lobito and Luau. It will also manage and expand workshops for the line along with the staff training centre in Huambo, which opened in 2017.
The concessionaire has the right to use and operate the new mineral terminal in the port of Lobito. Under the contract, it will be required to o transport 1677 million tonnes of freight per year by the fifth year of the concession. This will rise to 2982.31 million tonnes by year 10, while static figures of 4979.23 million tonnes are provided for years 20 and 30 of the agreement.
Trafigura and Mota-Engil both hold 49.5% stakes in the consortium and Vecturis 1%, reflecting their financial contribution. Vecturis will receive a fee for operating the railway while Mota-Engil will be responsible for infrastructure maintenance as well as execution of any works on the line. Trafigura will work on commercialisation.