Africa-Press – Angola. Angola and Namibia are planning a rail interconnection soon, via the Moçâmedes Railway (CFM), with an extension that should exceed 300 kilometers, with the start of the feasibility study, which will define the project’s costs and, among other aspects, , the branch path.
The chairman of the Board of Directors of the Moçâmedes Railway, Daniel Quipaxe, who gave the information to the press, said that the Republic of Namibia is already carrying out some actions, which culminated in the installation of a line, close to the border with Angola.
“We are also developing actions for budgeting and evaluating the location that should start from the Angolan branch to the Namibian border”, he said, referring that the project is framed in the agreements of the Southern African Development Community sub-region. (SADC) for the unification of railways.
For Daniel Quipaxe, structuring projects always require large investments, hence the attention to the details of the feasibility study, the definition of the best areas of implantation, the public contracting of companies and the search for experienced partners.
According to the official, the areas through which the route will pass are identified and in some points, with several rivers and streams, require credible engineering studies, in order to create sustainable bases for rail traffic.
Daniel Quipaxe believes that, with the materialization of the project, the southern region, with emphasis on the province of Huíla, considered a hub for trade in southern Africa, can register a satisfactory increase in cargo transport, an indicator that will facilitate trade. .
CFM Frequency
With a route of 905 kilometers to cover, the provinces of Namibe, Huíla and Cuando Cubango, where there are stops at 56 stations built, recently, the Moçâmedes Railway has increased the number of weekly train frequencies between the city to six. from Lubango and Menongue.
The frequencies that had been reduced to four, as a result of restrictive measures by Covid-19, are already having an impact on the increase in passengers, to a total of 200 and in quantities of diverse merchandise, with emphasis on rural products.
Likewise, the circulation of the train between Lubango, Jamba Mineira and the commune of Kassinga, along a 96-kilometre extension, was resumed, a fact that is giving new impetus to projects for prospecting, exploration of iron and other minerals.
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