Railway project to Link Luanda and DRC
The All-American Rail Group (AARG) signed on Sunday December 10th, in Luanda, a Memorandum of Understanding with the Ministry of Transport with the aim of supporting the railway expansion plan in the North of the country, in an investment estimated at 4.5 billion dollars.
Luanda’s connection to the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), which aims to strengthen food security in Angola, will boost agricultural expansion in the regions of Uíge, Kwanza-Norte, Bengo, Malanje and Zaire, in close synergy with the logistics platforms of the Soyo, Malanje, Luvo and Lombe.
It will also enable the export of oil, wood and minerals to Atlantic countries, according to a press release.
“The All-American Rail Group is committed to Angola,” said Mustafa Ocalir, member of the company’s Board of Directors.
According to him, “the Memorandum of Understanding is our first step towards supporting the expansion plan for the Angolan railway network, a critical issue for the diversification of the economy and the creation of jobs”.
On the same note, Mustafa Ocalir explained that the Northern Corridor is not just rail. “We intend to build and integrate the railway with logistics platforms and a port in this agricultural region, to advance the bold PlanAgrão and reinforce the country’s food security”, he detailed, highlighting further that ” the group attaches great importance to the partnership now initiated with the Ministry of Transport and who are ready to make their capacity to build, operate and finance railway and logistics projects available to Angola”.
For his part, the Minister of Transport, Ricardo Viegas d’Abreu, assessed the impact that the project could cause: “Although the Northern Corridor ends in Malanje, it could extend to the North and East of the country – the most populous regions of the country and possessing natural characteristics suitable for the implementation of agribusiness, commerce, industry and tourism activities”.
The Minister of Transport recalled, however, that “the Sector Master Plan foresees the expansion of the three national corridors to the borders with neighboring countries, with the priority objective of strengthening connections with the respective coastal ports, facilitating cross-border trade and boosting the real economy in Angola”.
For the success of the project, the Ministry of Transport plans to create a working group chaired by the holder of the portfolio, composed of representatives from the National Directorate of Concessions Economy, the Luanda Railway, the National Land Transport Agency and the All- American Rail Group.
Who is AARG
The All-American Rail Group (AARG) is a Houston, Texas-based railroad consortium comprised of six American rail and infrastructure companies. Over the past five years, AARG and its partners have earned something like $19.7 billion, having built and managed 3,000 rail projects in the United States, more than 200 of which are large-scale projects. Furthermore, it has financing from the Export-Import Bank, in the United States, and plans to soon open a representative office in Luanda.
