A rail gauge incompatibility between the Democratic Republic of Congo and Angola is hampering operations along the Lobito Corridor, forcing freight to be unloaded and reloaded at the border crossing, the commercial director of the Port of Lobito has warned.
Katila Neto, the port's commercial administrator, made the remarks on the sidelines of a recent visit to the Port of Lobito by members of Angola's National Assembly Fifth Committee on Economy and Finance.
Neto explained that the technical mismatch between the two countries' rail networks is causing the corridor to operate below its potential, because trains must transfer cargo at Luau, in eastern Moxico province, before continuing across the border into the DRC.
She also highlighted the need to construct a rail spur linking the corridor to Zambia — a strategic project that would run from Luacano, in eastern Moxico, to Jimbe on the Zambian border, covering a distance of more than 250 kilometres.
'These constraints have been faced mainly by the corridor's concessionaires — Lobito Atlantic Railway and Africa Global Logistics — but they are aspects that are being worked on,' Neto said.
She stressed that without both pieces of infrastructure fully operational, the Lobito Corridor cannot yet deliver the level of service that its full potential demands.
'We believe that in the short to medium term we will obtain answers and will be able to improve operations,' she said.
Turning to the Port of Lobito's own performance, Neto said operations have been running normally and the port has been meeting customer requirements.
'From January to June this year, 177 vessels called at the port, and 931,000 tonnes of general cargo were handled,' she said.
She added that the port expects to surpass last year's total throughput of approximately 1.8 million tonnes of general cargo by the end of 2025.
Asked about a new shipping service sailing directly from Lobito to Asia, Neto said there are plans for a monthly frequency in the initial phase.
'We launched the service in February this year and we are confident that the more cargo we secure on this route, the more monthly sailings we will be able to obtain,' she said.
The Port of Lobito transitioned from an operating port model to a landlord port structure on 23 December 2023, when the multipurpose terminal — handling general and containerised cargo — was conceded to Africa Global Logistics (AGL), followed later by the mineral terminal, which was awarded to Lobito Atlantic Railway (LAR).
Source: ANGOP / Original article: https://www.angop.ao/noticias/economia/incompatibilidade-da-linha-ferrea-da-rdc-reduz-operacionalidade-do-corredor-do-lobito/
