Published in furtherafrica.com
Lobito Port is an Angolan state-owned company based in Benguela and has launched an international tender for the management and exploitation of Lobito Port multipurpose container and general cargo terminal, for the period of 20 years.
The tender is open to international participation, under the terms of the Angolan Public Contracts Law and Private Investment Law, for management in regime of Landlord Port.
Candidates with experience in this sector have preference, namely players with more than twenty-five million dollars of own capital and average annual turnover above one hundred million dollars on the last three exercises.
The companies which intend to participate shall elaborate and present the exploration and organization plans for the terminal, including the planning and functional organization of the concession area, and the rules concerning environmental, hygiene, and security requirements.
Furthermore, companies shall inform their perspective regarding the construction, repair, and conservation of the terminal, as well as the installation or substitution of necessary equipment to execute the contract.
The presentation of proposals and request of procedural documents are already possible and may be performed until 16 August 2021, after a deposit of 4.7 million Dollars.
Lobito Port declared that the granting of these terminals represents a renewal for Lobito corridor, which integrates Angola, Democratic Republic of Congo, and Zambia.
The purpose of this tender is to intensify and permit greater dynamic to the trade of the region, taking advantage of the good transport infrastructures which integrate Lobito corridor, namely Lobito Port, Benguela Railway and Catumbela International Airport.
Lobito represents one of the most important Angolan and African Ports, having potential to foster Angolan economy in the context of the African common market and being a gateway for the entry and exit of goods regarding the countries of the region.
Lobito Port has three terminals:
• One for containers, with a capacity of twelve thousand containers per year;
• One for ore and minerals, with operational capacity of 3.6 million tons per year;
• A second line terminal, with static capacity for eight million containers per year.
Concluding, Lobito Corridor has potential to become one of the principal platforms to access Austral Africa and consequently the entire continent, and shall be seen as a very interesting opportunity to invest.
Article by Marco Correia Gadanha
Marco Correia Gadanha is a partner of the Portuguese law office MC&A. He is specialized in legal advice to international transactions. Marco has extensive experience of legal practice in Portugal and in the Portuguese-speaking African countries. Since 2008, he has practiced mainly in the areas of labor and litigation, assisting national and international clients in these and other matters, namely corporate law, especially in Portugal, Angola and Mozambique. He graduated at the University of Coimbra in 2005 and he holds post-graduations in Labor and Angolan Law.