Angola Revamps Concession for Container and General Cargo Terminals at Lobito Port
In a remarkable geopolitical shift, Angola has restructured Lobito Port by retendering the concession and awarding it to Africa Global Logistics (AGL), a subsidiary of Mediterranean Shipping Company (MSC). Previously, the Chinese consortium China International Trust and Investment Corporation (CITIC) and the Shandong Ports Group (SPG) won the tender to operate the container and general cargo terminals.
In 2022, the CITIC/SPG Consortium won the initial tender to operate the Lobito Port, which. As part of the concession, the Consortium agreed to disburse USD 100 million and to guarantee at least 100,000 TEU of container-handling capacity annually. It would appear the contract was not fully implemented. Hence, the Government of Angola decided to retender in January 2023.
| Port Component | Function | Concessionaire |
|---|---|---|
| Container and Multipurpose Terminals | Containers and General Cargo | Africa Global Logistics |
| Bulk Terminal | Copper, Cobalt, Sulphur | Lobito Atlantic Railway |
| Benguela Railway | Transport linking Angola to DR Congo and Zambia | Lobito Atlantic Railway |
AGL signed the new Concession Agreement in December 2023, and operations were transferred at the start of 2024. The Concession covers the container and multipurpose terminals. The quay is 1,200 meters in length with water 14 meters deep. The terminal has a storage yard with a capacity of 12,000 TEU. The concession period is also for twenty years. AGL agreed to inject EUR 100 million to modernize the infrastructure and perform capacity building for Lobito Port and also agreed to pay upfront to the Government of Angola another EUR 100 million as a concession fee.
As for the bulk terminal that handles mineral exports, the arrangement stays the same with a ‘pit-to-port’ model. Since 202 the Lobito Atlantic Railway holds a 30-year concession on both the Benguela Railway and the Bulk Terminal (Mineral Port) at Lobito. The Bulk Terminal has a quay that is 300 meters in length with a 15-meter draft. It is equipped with a conveyor that can transfer up to 5,000 tonnes of crushed ore per hour.
Both the US and EU are collaborating to back the #LobitoCorridor projects under the #PG2I program. It would appear that China has historically been involved more with the Tanzania-Zambia Railway (#TAZARA) — albeit rebranded under the #BRI — that connects the #Copperbelt to the Dar-es-Salaam port on the Indian Ocean