US investment worth USD 1.3 billion is going into the country’s solar energy, roads and bridges, and radio capabilities.
The government of Angola has approved a trio of ambitious projects to the tune of over USD 1.3 billion in the Lobito Corridor. The announcement was made at the Corporate Council on Africa’s US-Africa Business Sumit in Dallas on 7 May.
The investment marks the largest financing venture yet under the G7’s Partnership for Global Infrastructure and Investment (PGI). It follows last October’s signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between Angola, Zambia, the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), the European Commission, Africa Finance Corporation and African Development Bank signed in October last year to develop the corridor which links mines in Zambia and DRC with Angola’s Lobito port.
Financing for a USD 872.2 million loan facility will be provided by the Export-Import Bank of the United States (US-EXIM) for the construction of two photovoltaic solar energy power plants, which are set to be built by Sun Africa. The power plants are expected to generate over 500 megawatts of clean energy to Angola’s national grid.
A USD 343.6 million loan facility for the development of 186 roads, bridges and similar infrastructure across Angola is also on the agenda, in partnership with the Acrow Corporation, with the financing provided by Standard Chartered Bank, along with Private Export Funding Corporation as a lender, and guaranteed by US-EXIM.
There will also be a USD 41.7 million loan facility for the importation, supply and installation of radio transmitters, towers and additional equipment, along with training for Radio Nacional de Angola, the country’s state-owned national radio broadcaster. The funding was arranged by Deutsche Bank, along with Private Export Funding Corporation as a lender and US-EXIM guaranteeing the loan facility.
The Angolan Ministry of Finance was advised on the three infrastructure projects by a cross-border team at Norton Rose Fulbright, led by the firm’s head of banking and finance, for Europe, the Middle East and Asia, Madhavi Gosavi, along with counsel Jessica Melville, both based in London and supported by project finance partner Marissa Leigh Alcala in Washington, DC.
Gosavi said in a statement that the investments would “play a pivotal role in the future of the region” and added: “The upgrade and modernisation of key infrastructure across the country is essential to Angola achieving its economic and development goals.”
The Angolan Bar Association was among the signatories of an agreement to foster arbitration in Southern Africa’s inaugural Johannesburg Arbitration Week last month.