Love me tender

Angola: As Dubai Port takes over Luanda port, railway concessions are on the agenda

By Maria Mussolovela, in Luanda

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Posted on April 7, 2021 00:08

Angola’s poor infrastructure is a major bottleneck for the economy, and the debt-troubled government is now launching a round of concession deals to bring in the private sector and increase investment.

A first trial of the policy’s effectiveness will be the Multipurpose Terminal (MPT) at the port of Luanda, which Dubai Ports World (DP World) began operating in March. Next up should be the Lobito railway corridor, which connects the Angolan coast to Zambia and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).

Talking about the Luanda MPT, transport minister Ricardo Abreu says: “We believe that the Angolan economy will benefit a lot from the concession.” DP World won a public tender launched in December 2019 that attracted eight bids. Luanda MPT handles an estimated 70% of maritime cargo transported to and from Angola.

“The modernisation of the MPT and the expected increase in the efficiency of the port operation in Luanda will bring advantages to foreign trade. We expect it to contribute to an increase in the capacity of the Angolan export sector,” adds Abreu, a former deputy governor of the

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