ANGOLA: A groundbreaking ceremony has launched construction of the 260 km Luena – Saurimo branch of the Benguela Railway, following the signing of the contract the same day.
Minister of Transport Ricardo Viegas D’Abreu attended the ceremony on January 27 when the contract was signed with the Odebrecht Engenharia & Construção subsidiary of Brazil-based Novonor and its Portuguese subsidiary Bento Pedroso Construções.
The 1 067 mm gauge line will diverge at Luena in Moxico from the 1 344 km Benguela Railway, which links Lobito on the coast with Luau near the border with DR Congo. The project includes 11 bridges, eight stations and two junctions. Construction is expected to take 60 months.
The line is intended to improve transport for people and freight in the country’s eastern region, reducing logistics costs through the more efficient transport of agricultural and processed products to the port of Lobito.
The minister said the line ‘represents a crucial step in the development of the national railway network and the implementation of a strategic vision focused on territorial integration, sustainable economic growth and the strengthening of national and regional logistics links’. He said ‘this investment will be of vital importance for the development of the provinces of Moxico and Lunda-Sul, as it promotes passenger and freight transport and stimulates the local economy’.
Rodrigo Melo, President of Odebrecht Angola, said ‘this contract reinforces the trust that the government and society place in Odebrecht’s delivery capacity in Angola. This project represents a historic milestone in land transportation and will contribute decisively to the economic and social growth of the region.’
The project is one of a number of railway extensions envisaged in the national transport plan. The route is intened to form the first stage of the East Corridor, which would continue north from Saurimo to Dundo on the DR Congo border and south from Luena to Ondjiva on the Namibian border via the existing Moçâmedes Railway railhead at Menongue.
