Luanda, Dec. 5, 2025 (Lusa) - Angola launched on Friday an international public tender for the concession to operate, manage and maintain the Moçamedes Railway for 30 years, the Angolan government announced.
The tender, with the possibility of extending the term for another 20 years if the winner includes a connection to Namibia or Zambia, has an indicative date for the submission of bids of 4 May 2026.
In his speech, the Secretary of State for Land Transport, Jorge Bengue, highlighted the great importance of the Namibe Corridor for the socio-economic development of southern Angola and the country in general.
According to Jorge Bengue, the revitalisation of this corridor will involve the maintenance, modernisation and expansion of the railway line from Moçamedes to Menongue, including the possibility of connections, with priority given to Namibia and, optionally, Zambia.
In the technical presentation, the national director for the Economy of Concessions at the Ministry of Transport, Eugénio Fernandes, said that technical work is already underway between the Angolan and Namibian governments for the rail link, highlighting that in the Santa Clara area, in the Angolan province of Cunene, there is already a railway line "waiting" on the Namibian side, an option for whoever wins the concession.
He added that the contract provides for the concession premium, a benefit for Angola's public finances, to be shared between the Ministries of Transport and Finance, with a distribution of 60% and 40% of the amount, respectively.
In addition to the financial capacity for this investment, some of the requirements to participate in the tender include three years of experience in infrastructure management or rail freight operation, an annual turnover of US$50 million or more, and a net asset value of US$12 million or more in the last fiscal year.
Jorge Bengue said that the corridor already has transport and logistics infrastructure, highlighting that the Moçâmedes Railway starts at the Port of Namibe, passes through the city of Lubango, in the province of Huíla, and ends in the city of Menongue, in the province of Cubango, covering a distance of 855 kilometres.
The port of Namibe, he pointed out, has recently been rehabilitated, expanded and modernised with state-of-the-art technology, with its two terminals prepared to receive large ships and with greater operational capacity.
The Angolan minister emphasised that the corridor also includes the airports in the provinces of Namibe and Huíla, which are currently undergoing refurbishment and improvements, in order to be certified and start receiving international flights.
With this concession, the Angolan government intends, emphasised by Jorge Bengue, for the Namibe Corridor to promote national agricultural and mining production, job creation, especially for young people, as well as technical and professional training, the reduction of logistics costs and increased efficiency in the transport of goods.
"We want to move away from the current average of around 200,000 tonnes transported by rail per year and, when we reach the peak of the concession, after more or less ten years of its validity, we will effectively have volumes of around five million tonnes per year," he said.
"The Namibe Corridor is, as we all recognise, a bridge between the interior and the coast of Angola, between national production and exports. We are looking at a region rich in mineral resources, some of which are already in full exploitation, mainly iron and ornamental rocks. We are talking about a region with fertile soils for agricultural activity, capable of generating large-scale production, a corridor with intense fishing, livestock and many other activities," he said.
NME/AYLS // AYLS
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