The Angolan government is preparing to issue an international public tender in July for the Southern transport corridor concession, which includes the Port of Namibe and the Mocamedes Railway (CFM).

Angola’s transport minister Ricardo de Abreu confirmed the plans to launch the tender during an inspection visit on 19 May to the Mocamedes Bay Integrated Development Project.

The Southern transport corridor, also known as the Mocamedes corridor, runs from the Port of Namibe on the south Atlantic coast to Menongue in the east. The port handles 50% of Angola's exports.

The CFM runs for about 900km from Namibe port in the west to Menongue.

According to the Angop news agency, the railway will be extended under the concession from Menongue to Rivungo on Angola’s southeastern border with Namibia, passing through Mavinga (Vamos Cubango) and then to Cunene to connect with Namibia.

Angop cited the transport minister as saying that the region’s economy will guarantee the viability of the concession.

The Mocamedes Bay Integrated Development Project includes the construction of a new jetty at the Sacomar iron ore export terminal and a new container terminal at the Port of Namibe. The work is being undertaken by Japan’s Toyota Tsusho Corporation, which signed a US$447.6 million contract with the transport ministry in January 2019.

As of mid-May, the physical works were 42% complete. The inauguration of the project is slated for the third quarter of 2025.

The Angolan government is also planning to interlink the country's transport corridors.

In addition to the Southern or Mocamedes corridor, these include the Northern corridor, which starts in Luanda and ends in Malange and the Lobito corridor or Central corridor, which runs from the Port of Lobito through the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) in the east and ends at Ndola in central Zambia.

At a press conference at the Port of Lobito in late April, De Abreu confirmed that studies are underway to interconnect the Northern, Central and Southern rail lines, after which the government will deciding on financing. The scheme is understood to include the construction of more than 10,000km of additional rail lines.

Photo: Angola railway (Source: Angolan embassy in US)