Africa-Press – Angola. The director of Infrastructure of the Secretariat of the Southern African Development Community (SADC), Mapolao Rosemary Mokoena, recognized this Thursday, the engagement of the Angolan Executive, with a view to the rapid operationalization of the Lobito Corridor.
Mapolao Rosemary Mokoena was speaking in the city of Lobito, in Benguela, where the commission of experts from Angola, the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and Zambia are preparing the 1st meeting of the Committee of Ministers of the Transit Transport Facilitation Agency of the Central African Corridor. Lobito (AFTTCL), to be held next Saturday.
In her speech, the official thanked the Republic of Angola for the positive commitment presented to the SADC Secretariat, as it has already ratified the AFTTCL tripartite agreement with the DRC and Zambia.
“I am aware that we are in the process of ratifying the AFTTCL agreements, but we are very grateful that Angola has set a good example”, he said, asserting that, to date, Angola is the only State that has presented a note of that agreement to the SADC Secretariat.
Mapolao Rosemary Mokoena said that the expectation is that Zambia will do so soon, followed later by the Democratic Republic of Congo, as the ratification process is underway.
“But don’t take too long, because it often becomes time-consuming”, he advised, highlighting the idea that it is important to complete the ratification process so that the agreement can produce the expected results, namely boosting the transport of goods in the Lobito Corridor.
In this sense, he made it known that experts are evaluating the activities already carried out in accordance with the commitment made by the Member States of the Lobito Corridor at the highest level.
He highlighted that there is a lot of interest and desire from international partners regarding the operation of the Lobito Corridor, hence reinforcing the call for the ratification of the agreement as soon as possible.
In his view, the Lobito Corridor Transit Transport Facilitation Agency must prepare for the materialization of memorandums of understanding with the Member States of the Corridor.
These memorandums of understanding involve, in particular, the United States of America, the European Union and the African Development Bank (ADB), among other partners, which, in the responsible’s opinion, constitute tangible issues to be presented to the Committee of Ministers, next Saturday .
“We are under pressure and we cannot wait long. We have to move quickly,” said the director of the SADC Secretariat for Infrastructure.
Likewise, he highlighted the “very advanced” of the Heads of State of the three countries in favor of the Lobito Corridor, stressing that “we do not want to be the elements that pull the carriage back or a reason for setbacks”.
For this reason, he considered that all member countries of the Lobito Corridor must move towards ratifying the agreement, with a view to operationalizing their respective transport and logistics infrastructures.
“We’ve already talked about frameworks, infrastructures. And we’re going to talk ([now] about implementation and this is the spirit that should guide our work”, he stressed.
The task, he pointed out, is to define the relevant subcommittees in the area of transport and trade and value chain, as well as fine-tune the coordination mechanisms under the supervision of the Transit Transport Facilitation Agency, in line with some agreements signed by governments and partners.
In addition to the status of ratification of the tripartite agreement on Facilitation of Transit Transport in the Lobito Corridor, the meeting of experts also addresses the creation of the AFTTCL provisional Secretariat.
The agenda also includes topics on sources of financing and sustainability strategy, the Corridor’s master plan, the US-EU-ADB-AFC Memorandum of Understanding with the Corridor Member States and the establishment of the Dry Port for the DRC and Zambia.
The Lobito Corridor Tripartite Transit Transport Facilitation Agreement (AFTTCL) was signed in Lobito, province of Benguela, on January 27, 2023, by the three Member States of this railway corridor, which extends 1,344 kilometers in length, connecting the Atlantic to the East.
This is a partnership of crucial importance, thus allowing the DRC and Zambia, as countries located in the region, landlocked, to use the logistics and transport infrastructures of the Lobito Corridor, such as the Port of Lobito and the Benguela Railway (CFB), to transport goods, mainly copper and cobalt ores, from Katanga and the Copperbelt.
It should be noted that the 1st meeting of the AFTTCL Committee of Ministers aims to analyze and evaluate the progress of activities aimed at accelerating the implementation of the program to facilitate the transport of goods transit in the Lobito Corridor, given the commitment made by the Heads of State of Angola, DRC and Zambia.
With its management being privatized, for 30 years, to the “Lobito Atlantic Railway” consortium, this corridor covers the port of Lobito, the mineral terminal and the Benguela Railway, with a line of 1,344 kilometers to the eastern border of Angola.
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