Luanda –Angola and Zambia are currently negotiating Zambia’s interest in investing in the Lobito Refinery Project, whose crude oil barrels production capacity is 200,000 barrels of oil per day, its ambassador to Angola Lawrence Chalungumana said last week.
The ambassador disclosed the information during the 59th anniversary of Zambia’s Independence Day, adding that the two countries are also engaged in negotiations regarding an oil pipeline construction to connect the two southern African nations.
Lawrence Chalungumana said bilateral cooperation between Angola and Zambia is “increasingly strong” in various areas, following four official visits to Angola by President Hakainde Hichilema this year.
In addition to oil, the two countries also co-operate in infrastructure, health, agriculture and trade, among others.
The ambassador said he considers the Lobito Corridor to be the biggest infrastructure project connecting Angola and Zambia, through the Benguela Railway and the road network.
According to the Zambian diplomat, the Lobito corridor project is at an advanced stage, with three countries in the corridor (Angola, Zambia and the Democratic Republic of Congo) currently working with international partners, including the US government, the European Union and the African Development Bank, among others to get it completed.
This year’s Zambia’s independence anniversary was marked under the slogan “Acceleration of national development through equitable distribution of resources”.