Lobito railway: Hichilema backs project as contract talks near and most of the money is still to be found

President Hakainde Hichilema has reaffirmed the Government's commitment to the Zambia Lobito Railway after receiving an Africa Finance Corporation (AFC) delegation at State House on Monday. Contract negotiations with the chosen builders are due to start this month. "This project is extremely important to us in Zambia as it fits into the global and Grow Zambia Agenda," President Hichilema said. He pledged the Government's full support and said the line would also help Zambia move food products such as mealie-meal to neighbouring countries. AFC President and Chief Executive Officer Samaila Zubairu told the President that the project goes beyond rail. "This project is not just about the railway; it is also about the industrial cities that will emerge along the railway corridor," he said. The 830km new line will run from Chingola on the Copperbelt to Luacano in eastern Angola, where it will connect with the Benguela railway and continue to the Port of Lobito. AFC has named a consortium of Italy's Webuild, Portugal's Mota-Engil and Turkey's IC İçtaş as preferred bidder for the Zambian section of about 515km. Mota-Engil and Odebrecht are the preferred bidders for the Angolan section. Preferred bidders do not yet have signed contracts. AFC aims to conclude the engineering, procurement and construction agreements within eight to 12 weeks of talks opening. Asked why no African company made the final cut, Mr Zubairu said AFC prioritised builders with a record of delivering large projects "on time and on budget", along with the guarantees lenders require. The pledged US$1.32 billion includes US$500 million each from AFC and the African Development Bank. Against a cost of up to US$5 billion, that leaves as much as US$3.7 billion to find. Mr Zubairu has said AFC is seeking initial viability gap funding from the Zambian and Angolan governments, after some commitments expected from international partners failed to materialise. He said the railway remains commercially viable bu