Africa-Press – Angola. The Angolan government signed an agreement Monday (17) in Luanda to establish the Lobito Corridor Transit Transport Facilitation Agency (AFTTCL) in the country and facilitate interconnected transport along the line.
The Agency is a support body for all activities that will take place along the railway line, integrating technical teams from Angola, Zambia and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).
The signing ceremony was presided over by the minister of Transport, Ricardo Viegas D’Abreu, and witnessed by the Executive Secretary of AFTTCL, Amadeu Nunes.
The Ambassadors of Zambia to Angola, Elias Munshya, and of the Democratic Republic of Congo in Luanda, Constantin Kalala Mayiba, were also present.
According to a press release, the agreement grants full legal personality to the Agency, establishes regimes of inviolability, immunities and operational facilities, and creates a robust framework for coordination, supervision and harmonization of procedures, guaranteeing adequate conditions for the exercise of its mandate in Angolan territory.
The instrument is considered a decisive step towards consolidating the Corridor as a regional logistics axis of reference, aligned with international standards for facilitating transport and trade.
On the occasion, the minister of Transport stated that “the signing of this agreement marks a structural advance for the Lobito Corridor, allowing the Agency to be equipped with the legal and institutional instruments essential for its effective operation and to strengthen its operational credibility.”
For his part, Amadeu Nunes stressed that, with the signing of this agreement, the governments of Angola, the Democratic Republic of Congo and Zambia, in collaboration with the Southern African Development Community (SADC), the African Union (AU), development partners and the private sector, are consolidating the central element that will allow the Lobito Corridor to be transformed into a Development Corridor.
The Executive Secretary of AFTTCL highlighted that the parties intend to build resilient infrastructure that supports economic clusters, promotes value aggregation in mining, agriculture, energy and services, advances industrialization and strengthens the participation of SMEs and their market links.
The Tripartite Agency for Transport and Transit Facilitation of the Lobito Corridor was inaugurated last January by the Minister of Transport.
Lobito Corridor extends from the port with the same name, bathed by the Atlantic Ocean, and crosses Angola from west to east, passing through the provinces of Benguela, Huambo, Bié and Moxico, encompassing the mining areas of the Congolese province of Katanga and the Copperbelt of Zambia.
The Lobito Corridor Transit Facilitation Agency will involve the construction of dry ports in Catumbela for products from the DRC and Zambia.
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