The Port of Luanda enables increased exports
Luanda’s port is to recommence in rail goods after a twenty year stoppage. 155 miles away from the country’s capital, the cargo will move to the inland city, Malanje. The network will also connect the Boa Vista port to the industrial hub in Viana, 26 miles to the east.
With the goal to carry 615,000 metric tonnes of freight per year, the rail infrastructure intends to decrease the burden on the neighbouring roads and increase the levels of distribution of incoming cargo.
The hopeful result of this development will refurbish lines and consequently ease the congested roads currently under strain from the ongoing high levels of construction. With the construction of this port, officials are hopeful that corporations will start using this means of transport as a substitute of trucks and road commuting.
$200 million dollars of Government investment and loans has enabled the rebuilding of the railway infrastructure throughout the country’s capital. Another contributor to this project is the importation of large skilled labour forces from within the borders and from China.
Although a precise date is yet to be publicised, the routes are due to be operational at some time during the month of March and will primarily carry fuels and energy supplies like butane and diesel out of Luanda and carry farming produce in to the city’s residents.
The upgrading and development of the wider rail network has been a focus of efforts since the end of the civil war with several operations recently announced to deliver more frequent and further reaching connections for passengers and cargo. This latest operation coincides with initiatives announced earlier in the year to purchase 100 locomotives from the US Group General Electric, a fleet of engines which will be used to export oil out of Angola by rail and onto some of the neighbouring countries.
