The Benguela Railway (CFB), the Angolan public railway company, will begin transporting cargoes of up to five tons between Huambo and Lobito starting in September, aiming to facilitate the distribution of agricultural production from small producers, announced the company’s president, António Manuel Cabral.
The announcement was made during a visit by European Union ambassadors to the Lobito Corridor, a route of about 200 kilometers between Huambo and Bié, two of the five Angolan provinces crossed by this important railway infrastructure.
In the municipality of Chinguar, Bié province, the diplomats met with young farmers benefiting from the Commercial Agriculture Development Project (PDAC), financed by the European Union and the French Development Agency (AFD). The producers highlighted the gains from access to credit but mentioned difficulties in distributing their production. During the meeting, the CFB president announced the creation of the “Camacove” train, named after an old colonial-era freight train. “This is what the railway can do to help small producers transport their production throughout the Lobito Corridor,” he said.
Currently, two distinct entities operate on the Lobito Corridor: CFB and the Lobito Atlantic Railway (LAR), a private consortium responsible for transporting large volumes, mainly minerals, and operating the line. LAR is composed of Trafigura (Switzerland), Mota-Engil (Portugal), and Vecturis (Belgium), holding a 30-year concession for infrastructure operation and maintenance. According to Cabral, a passenger and light cargo train is already operating between Huambo and Luau, at the border with the Democratic Republic of Congo.
The Lobito Corridor stretches over 1,300 kilometers and connects the port of Lobito, in Benguela province in eastern Angola, to the Democratic Republic of Congo, considered a strategic route for transporting goods and minerals in the Central African region. Cabral assured that the prices charged by CFB are “social” and aim to support local communities.
“CFB used to transport about one million passengers and move approximately 300 thousand tons per year. Now we are repositioning ourselves towards small loads because we have separated from large volumes,” explained the company’s leader. Among the highlighted services is the express passenger train between Lobito and Luena, with stops in Huambo and Cuito.
Source: Lusa
