Luanda - African Development Bank (AfDB) intends to invest around USD 150 million in plant production along the Lobito Corridor, mainly in the eastern region of Angola, the minister of Economy and Planning Mário Caetano João has announced.
The minister announced so to the press at the end of an audience granted to President and Chair of the Board of Directors of Export-Import Bank of the United States (Eximbank) Reta Jo Lewis on Wednesday.
He expressed the AfDB commitment to the investment in the strategic corridor for the country's development.
The corridor, stretching from Port of Lobito, crosses Angola from West to East, through the provinces of Benguela, Huambo, Bié and Moxico.
It covers the mining areas of Katanga province in the Democratic Republic of
Congo (DRC) and Copperbelt in Zambia.
Privately managed, the Lobito Corridor integrates the infrastructures of the Port of Lobito, the Mining Terminal, Catumbela Airport and the Benguela Railway (CFB).
SADC sees the corridor as crucial for development in the region, with benefits for Angola and neighbouring countries (DRC and Zambia).
The official put the consortium investment at between USD 300 and 400 million to increase the fleet of trains, while the World Bank has pledged around USD 300 million to help with grain production.
According to Mário Caetano João, the World Bank plans to bring some logistics platforms to Angola to help create the value chain.
Still this Wednesday, the Angolan official evaluated with the Chinese ambassador to Angola, Gong Tao, issues related to bilateral cooperation.
During the audience, the parties spoke of the new forms of cooperation, especially in the fields of Industry, Agriculture, Fisheries and new information technologies.
The 40-year cooperation between the two countries intensified in the
last 20 years, with commercial transactions reaching USD 27.34 billion dollars in 2022, according to data from the Chinese Government.
From the process of reconstruction and construction of infrastructures of
development of Angola, started in 2002, the trade balance between
the two States stood at 150 million dollars, according to the same data. LIN/VM/TED/NIC
