The World Bank Group, through the Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency (MIGA), issued guarantees worth 62.6 million dollars (53.7 million euros) to Portuguese construction company Mota-Engil to cover its capital investments in Lobito Atlantic Railway, which operates the Lobito Corridor under a 30-year concession with the Government of Angola.
Mota-Engil is responsible for the operation, management, maintenance, and modernization of approximately 1,300 kilometres of railway infrastructure crossing Angola, from the Port of Lobito, on the Atlantic coast, to Luau, on the border with the Democratic Republic of Congo. The concession also includes the operation of a mineral terminal at the Angolan port.
The Lobito Corridor project is expected to directly employ over 1,600 workers at peak operations, of which 97% will be Angolan citizens. Currently, nearly a thousand workers are employed, including 529 transferred from state railway and port operators. The corridor constitutes one of the most competitive routes between the Copperbelt region, in the DRC, rich in copper and cobalt, and international markets.
The risk insurance provided by MIGA will cover Mota-Engil's capital investments against risks of expropriation, conflict and civil disturbance, and contractual default. The Vice President and CEO of the Mota-Engil Group, Manuel Mota, stated that the partnership with MIGA reinforces the necessary conditions to make the investment viable and reflects international confidence in the project and in the execution capacity of its partners.
