Af rican Global Logistics (AGL) now controls the majority of the most important ports on the west African coastline following its selection as the successful bidder to run the Lobito container and conventional terminals. Effective in the first quarter of 2024, AGL will take over the staff of the Empresa Portuária do Lobito EP port authority.Lobito has a quay depth of 14 metres and direct access to the sea. AGL will manage the container and multipurpose terminals with 1 200m of quayside, a storage area with a capacity of 12 000 TEUs and handling equipment.The multipurpose terminal has an annual cargo handling capacity of 600 000 tonnes and the container terminal 250 000 TEUs a year.“With the support of the world’s leading ship owner, MSC, AGL’s industrial project will improve the connectivity of the Lobito Port platform. “It will boost trade in the region and support industrialisation efforts. The Port of Lobito will thus be involved in the development of agricultural projects, construction sites and tertiary service companies,” said Olivier De Noray, managing director of AGL Ports and Terminals at the official signing ceremony in December.AGL has committed to investing nearly $109 million to turn the Port of Lobito into a modern, efficient and competitive port platform, capable of meeting the expectations of national and international customers and contributing to the growth and diversification of the Angolan economy, according to the official statement issued at the signing ceremony.The addition of Lobito brings to 14 the number of container terminals operated by AGL on the African west coast, starting from Dakar in Senegal to Pointe-Noire in Congo. The company also operates seven ro-ro terminals along the west coast. Set to be implemented in the first quarter of 2024, the concession puts MSC in a very strong position to serve the west coast. Another MSC subsidiary, Terminal Investment Limited, was awarded the concession to run the Walvis Bay container terminal in 2022. MSC-aligned terminals in Walvis Bay and Lobito will be in a strong position to compete against South African ports.In October 2023, the African Development Bank and Africa Finance Corporation (AFC) joined the United States and the European Union in support of Angola, the Democratic Republic of Congo, and Zambia to develop the Lobito Corridor and the new Zambia-Lobito rail line by signing a seven-side Memorandum of Understanding.This will provide a rail link from the Zambian and DRC Copperbelts to the existing upgraded line which terminates at the Angolan border. “The new rail line, connecting north-west Zambia to the Lobito Atlantic Railway and the Port of Lobito, represents the most significant transport infrastructure that the United States has helped develop on the African continent in a generation, and will enhance regional trade and growth as well as advance the shared vision of connected, open-access rail from the Atlantic Ocean to the Indian Ocean,” states a media release issued by the US Department of State.AGL has also committed to being involved in the development of agricultural projects, construction sites and tertiary service companies.Its priority will be to reverse a drop in volumes.According to the Angola Press Agency, volumes were down 14.9% in 2023, compared to 2022.Lobito processed 1.33 million tonnes of various types of cargo in 2023.The chairman of the Board of Directors of Lobito Port, Celso Rosas, said that 351 ships had called at Lobito Port in 2023. The total revenue dropped to about $16m, a 5.72% decline compared to 2022.Rosas attributed the revenue drop to changes in port tariffs, exchange rate f luctuations and the international situation affecting global maritime trade.
