Angola’s Road Network Set for Transformation as Africa Finance Corporation leads commercial funding for €381 million project. The project specifically targets improved accessibility in remote areas and supports industrial and commercial activity, advancing prosperity by reducing transport costs and travel times, and easing poverty through job creation
AFC, acting as mandated lead arranger for the commercial tranche, has committed to invest €85 million, combining with export credit agency financing from the Export-Import Bank of the U.S. and the U.S. Private Export Funding Corporation. Other key partners include Standard Chartered Bank as the coordinating and structuring bank; Conduril, a leading Portuguese civil engineering firm the main EPC contractor; and Acrow, a U.S. construction industry giant as the bridge supplier. The signing took place at the recent US-Africa Business Summit in Dallas, Texas, organised by the Corporate Council on Africa.
Initiated by the Ministry of Public Works, Urban Planning and Housing in Angola, the project specifically targets improved accessibility in remote areas and supports industrial and commercial activity, advancing prosperity by reducing transport costs and travel times, and easing poverty through job creation. Improving road interconnectivity particularly helps the agricultural sector produce and market much needed cereals for human food and animal feed, as well as livestock, providing a resolute response to increased food imports and fostering localisation of food chains.
In October 2023, AFC was appointed lead project developer for the Lobito Corridor connecting northwest Zambia to the Benguela rail line in Angola and ultimately to the port of Lobito, working with the US government, the European Union, the African Development Bank and the governments of Angola, the Democratic Republic of Congo and Zambia. AFC’s investment in the new roads project showcases the Lobito Corridor consortium partnering beyond rail to support rural transport connectivity that will serve to link communities and the larger regional corridor.
The Republic of Angola has been a shareholder and member state of AFC since 2022.