- Less than one third of Angola's old and extensive railroad network has survived the decades of civil war. The government now has announced plans to invest US$ 4 billion over the next years to reconstruct this network and even extend it.
Angolan Transportation Minister André Luis Brandão revealed this at a recent meeting of the African Railways Union (UAC) in Luanda. The railway network of Angola, before the destructions of war, was of importance to the regional network, providing an outlet to the coast from Lusaka (Zambia) via Lubumbashi in southern Congo.
Angola has about 2,700 kilometres of railways, but only about 850 kilometres - or one third - of the existing network is now operational. Many parts were destroyed during the civil war, other parts were filled with mines. Several railways also crossed the frontline between government-controlled areas and strongholds of the UNITA rebels. No trains have crossed here since the late 1970s.
According to Transport Minister Brandão, the Luanda government has set aside US$ 4 billion over the next 11 years to build out and reconstruct the major railways in the country. Reconstruction is going to be relatively slow and concentrate on the trans-border railway networks.
The national "Angoferro" railway project is set to link Angola to its eastern neighbours; Congo Kinshasa (DRC) and Zambia. From Zambia, further existing railroads connect to most countries of Southern Africa. The major commercial drive behind this line is to re-establish the Angolan coast as the port outlet for the mineral rich Katanga province of Congo Kinshasa.
Railroad segments in Angola's southern provinces Benguela and Namibe are currently being repaired under the same programme, according to the government's Agência Nacional para o Investimento Privado (ANIP).
The railway in the Namibe province is currently not connected to other parts of the national or regional network. Starting in the interior city of Menongue, it ends up in the port city of Namibe. There however exists an agreement with the government of Namibia to connect this railroad to the Namibian network.
In related news, Angola's National De-Mining Institute recently announced that it had completed de-mining operations along the Huambo-Cuito route of the Benguela railroad. A total of 337 landmines and other explosive devices were removed from the 202-kilometer stretch linking the capitals of Huambo and Bie provinces.
Benguela Railway officials hope that trains will be able to travel from the port city of Lobito on the Atlantic coast to Bie's capital of Cuito by the end of 2006, according to reports from ANIP.
afrol News - It is called "financial inclusion", and it is a key government policy in Rwanda. The goal is that, by 2020, 90 percent of the population is to have and actively use bank accounts. And in only four years, financial inclusion has doubled in Rwanda.
afrol News - The UN's humanitarian agencies now warn about a devastating famine in Sudan and especially in South Sudan, where the situation is said to be "imploding". Relief officials are appealing to donors to urgently fund life-saving activities in the two countries.
afrol News - Fear is spreading all over West Africa after the health ministry in Guinea confirmed the first Ebola outbreak in this part of Africa. According to official numbers, at least 86 are infected and 59 are dead as a result of this very contagious disease.
afrol News - It is already a crime being homosexual in Ethiopia, but parliament is now making sure the anti-gay laws will be applied in practical life. No pardoning of gays will be allowed in future, but activist fear this only is a signal of further repression being prepared.
afrol News / Africa Renewal - Ethiopia's ambitious plan to build a US$ 4.2 billion dam in the Benishangul-Gumuz region, 40 km from its border with Sudan, is expected to provide 6,000 megawatts of electricity, enough for its population plus some excess it can sell to neighbouring countries.
front page
| news
| countries
| archive
| currencies
| news alerts login
| about afrol News
| contact
| advertise
| español