Cross-border transport infrastructure undertaking the Lobito Hall railway undertaking, in Angola, has achieved a profitable monetary shut of $753-million, says infrastructure financing fund the Africa Finance Company (AFC).
The transaction, which follows key financing agreements signed late final yr, marks a serious milestone for regional integration and financial transformation in Africa.
The funding will help the rehabilitation, improve and long-term operation of the 1 300 km brownfield rail hall linking the Port of Lobito, in Angola, to the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) border.
The Lobito Atlantic Railway (LAR) is a three way partnership between building and infrastructure firm Mota-Engil and metals and minerals logistics firm Trafigura.
AFC, because the co-financial adviser on the transaction, and monetary providers agency Eaglestone led the structuring and mobilisation of financing for LAR because the borrower and concessionaire.
The financing for the regional undertaking consists of $553-million from the US Worldwide Growth Finance Company and $200-million from the Growth Financial institution of Southern Africa, the AFC says.
By enabling higher connectivity between key markets, supporting regional commerce corridors and strengthening entry to international markets, the Lobito Hall railway undertaking represents a serious milestone in advancing regional integration and unlocking Africa’s industrial potential.
“Reaching monetary shut on the Lobito Hall railway undertaking is the fruits of years of labor and a defining second for infrastructure finance in sub-Saharan Africa. This transaction exhibits that advanced, multi-lender, cross-border undertaking financing may be structured and efficiently closed on the continent,” says Eaglestone founding accomplice Nuno Gil.
“As one of many continent’s most strategic transport corridors, the undertaking will strengthen regional connectivity, facilitate commerce and unlock new alternatives for financial progress throughout Angola and the broader area,” says AFC president and CEO Samaila Zubairu.
