Financial agreement expands Lobito’s transport capacity
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Financial agreement expands Lobito’s transport capacity
The Lobito Corridor will reduce the cost of transporting critical minerals by 30%
Yesterday the Africa Finance Corporation (AFC) announced the signing of key financing agreements for the Lobito Atlantic Railway Project (LAR) in Angola.
AFC and Eaglestone are financial advisers to LAR, the borrower and concessionaire of Angola’s brownfields railway corridor.
LAR is a regional infrastructure project that will rehabilitate, upgrade and operate the 1300km rail line connecting the Port of Lobito on Angola’s Atlantic coast to the Democratic Republic of Congo’s (DRC) border.
A major milestone
The signing of the USD753-million financing package made up of USD553-million from the U.S. International Development Finance Corporation (DFC) and USD200-million from the Development Bank of Southern Africa (DBSA), marks a major milestone for the LAR.
The initiative is backed by leading sponsors including multinational engineering and construction group Mota-Engil, Trafigura, one of the world’s leading independent commodities trading and logistics companies, and Vecturis, an international rail operator with extensive experience in freight rail concessions.
According to Manuel Mota, CEO of Mota-Engle, this strategic agreement will expand transport capacity, reduce transit costs, and open access to the mineral-rich regions of the DRC and Zambia.
Following the Benguela railway line
In 2023 @Charl Van Rensburg from @Remote Exploration Services and I followed the historic Benguela railway line through the Moxico Province of Angola as part of the 2023 Whyfrica Road Trip. RES is the premier sponsor of WhyAfrica’s annual road trips.
The Benguela Railway will be upgraded to form the major artery of the Lobito Corridor.
After driving for more than 10 hours we arrived after dark in a small, remote town called Luacano at the eastern end of the Benguela Railway line.
Luacano is close to the Lobito–Luau rail axis and will play an important role in the logistics and development of the Lobito Corridor.
The local police in Luacano were worried about our safety and at first suggested that we sleep over in the prison cell at the tiny police station.
After much deliberation and negotiations, we eventually set up camp on the primary school’s veranda, which was next to the police station where the men on duty could watch our tents all night.
This photo of me having breakfast was taken the next morning just after witnessing a spectacular sunrise over the Angola savanna.
Financial agreement expands Lobito’s transport capacity