Cuito, Bie, Angola, July 3, 2025 (Lusa) — The Angolan Secretary of State for Land Transport said in Bié that the Lobito Corridor "is no longer just a wish or a prospect," highlighting that the infrastructure has begun to have concrete effects on the ground.

"Things are happening," said Jorge Bengue, on Thursday, on the sidelines of the visit by a delegation of European Union (EU) ambassadors to the provinces of Huambo and Bié, which began on Tuesday and ends today.

"If before we were talking about a desire, a prospect, today we are talking about concrete things."

The visit, led by the EU delegation in Angola, toured some parts of these provinces to assess the impact of the Lobito Corridor, operated by a European consortium comprising Trafigura, MotaEngil and Vecturis, under a 30-year concession with the Angolan government.

The infrastructure covers the port of Lobito, the Benguela Railway (CFB) and logistics terminals along the 1,300-kilometre railway line, which connects the Angolan coast to the Democratic Republic of Congo, passing through the provinces of Benguela, Huambo, Bié, Moxico and Moxico-Leste.

"We have always thought about the various transport infrastructures along the Lobito Corridor, one of the main ones being the Benguela railway and the port of Lobito, among others, which are catalysts for development," said the Secretary of State.

According to the government official, the effects of the concession are beginning to be visible on several fronts.

"We now have agricultural production that we did not have a few years ago, which is beginning to take on a different dimension. We are seeing private companies starting to invest along the Lobito Corridor in various segments of the economic sector," he said, reiterating: "These are projects, actions that are beginning to bear fruit."

In addition to rail transport, Jorge Bengue highlighted the involvement of the European Union and other international partners in training initiatives, support for local production and financing for small producers.

"We also have, on the part of our partner, the European Union, several initiatives focused on education and training for national producers and others. We have initiatives aimed at financing the various investments that are emerging along the Lobito Corridor, mainly small initiatives in agricultural production."

According to the Secretary of State, these initial results are encouraging. "Nothing better than a start like this," he said.

He cited as an example of progress in the marketing of agricultural production the case of avocado producers in Huambo, who are preparing for their first major export to Europe via the Lobito Corridor.

"We are preparing the first major avocado export as part of an investment that a consortium of Dutch companies, in partnership with the Ministry of Transport, has decided to make in the province of Huambo, at the Cáala site," he said.

Asked about the delay in the disbursement of financing from the DFC (United States International Development Finance Corporation, an agency that supports the private sector) to the Lobito Atlantic Railway concessionaire, Jorge Bengue said that the constraints were the result of normal procedures.

"This is not financing for the state; the entities to be financed are private investors in the Lobito Corridor. The financing has its own ritual and, as a general rule, is not quick," he stressed.

Despite the delay, he believes that the funds will be released. "There is work to be done and, sometimes, we have to be patient, because there are situations that we understand are the result of compliance with the criteria of the financing entities."

The Secretary of State also stressed that the most immediate impact of the project can already be measured in the lives of producers: "The fact that we had producers who did not know how to store or transport what they produced, and as a result a very large percentage of their production was spoiled, today we can see several producers clearly stating that they are producing more," he explained.

For Jorge Bengue, the visit by the European ambassadors shows that the Lobito Corridor brings more than just promises: "Today, when we visit the Lobito Corridor, we don't just see maps and intentions — we see concrete things."

RCR/AYLS // AYLS

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