The African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) has provided a €175m dual tranche term loan facility to Mota-Engil Africa, a leading engineering and construction company in Africa. The facility will support Mota-Engil Africa’s investment obligations for the Lobito Railway Project, which aims to rehabilitate, expand, and develop the railway line connecting the port cities of Lobito in Angola and Dar es Salaam in Tanzania through the copper-rich regions of Zambia and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).
The facility is part of Afreximbank’s EPC Contract Promotion Initiative, which seeks to facilitate the participation of African contractors in the execution of large-scale projects across the continent. The initiative also provides access to financing, guarantees, advisory services, and capacity building for eligible contractors.
The Lobito Railway Project is a strategic infrastructure project that will enhance regional integration, trade, and industrialization among the four countries involved. The project was awarded to a consortium led by Mota-Engil Africa and its partners by the Government of Angola in November 2022, under a concession agreement that covers the operation and maintenance of the railway infrastructure, the rail freight service, the development of a transport training centre and railway workshops.
The project will enable efficient logistics for the export of minerals and other general cargo, as well as improve the competitiveness of industries in the region by reducing transportation costs and time.
The facility agreement was signed by Jose Carlos Nogueira, Group Chief Financial Officer of Mota-Engil Africa, and Acting Director of Trade and Corporate Finance at Afreximbank.
