China's Private Enterprises Revive Railway Artery in Angola

BEIJING, November 15, Xinhuanet—In southern Angola, the Moçâmedes Railway is like a steel dragon, winding 876 kilometers across Namibe, Huíla, and Cuando Cubango provinces. The Moçâmedes Railway overhaul project undertaken by China's private enterprise Hyway Group has been successfully completed recently, making this railway a major transportation artery in southern Angola.

The picture shows the Moçâmedes Railway at dawn.

According to Xinhua International, before the 40th anniversary of Angola's independence on November 11, Hyway Group handed over railway staff dormitories and schools built at 56 stations along the Moçâmedes Railway to Angola, marking the end of the 8-year Moçâmedes Railway overhaul project costing USD 1.31 billion.

A few days ago, Angola's Minister of Transport Augusto Da Silva Tomás visited Namibe Province in person. Accompanied by Wei Ruihai, Vice President of Hyway Group, and local government officials, he unveiled the plaque for staff dormitory buildings at several stations in Namibe Province. Later, he took a train to Lubango, the capital of Huíla Province, to unveil the plaque for the railway staff dormitory buildings in Lubango, and was warmly welcomed by railway staff and local people and students along the railway.

The Moçâmedes Railway has greatly promoted social and economic development along the railway. The picture shows the school built along the railway.

Tomás said that the Moçâmedes Railway overhaul project is an important part of Angola's post-war reconstruction process. The operation of this railway has played an indispensable role in the social and economic development as well as the flow of personnel and materials in the three southern provinces of Angola. He expressed his gratitude to Hyway Group and Chinese and Angolan builders for delivering a satisfactory answer to the people of Angola.

According to Xinhua International, the Moçâmedes Railway was built in the 1950s and named after Namibe's former name "Moçâmedes". The railway was seriously damaged during the long-term armed conflict in Angola. By the end of the civil war in 2002, this railway was basically abandoned and paralyzed. The stations, tracks, bridges, and signal systems along the railway were completely unusable, and the reconstruction work was daunting due to landmines along the railway.

The westernmost end of Moçâmedes Railway runs directly into Namibe, the most important port in southern Angola.