Work wraps up on key Angolan railway project

Chinese and Angolan workers lay the roadbed on the Benguela railway. China Railway Construction Co announced on Wednesday that it has completed construction of the railway project in Angola and plans to put it into operation this year. [Photo/China Daily]

By the numbers

capacity: The railway will be able to transport 20 million metric tons of cargo and 4 million passengers annually.

Destination to destination: The 1,344-kilometer railway is the second-longest railroad built by a Chinese company overseas, after the 1,860-km Tanzania-Zambia Railway built in 1970. It connects Angola's Atlantic port of Lobito with the eastern border town of Luau.

Speed and cost: The 67-station railway, with a total investment of $1.83 billion, is designed for a speed of 90 km per hour.

Railway history: The original Benguela railway was built in 1902 based on Portuguese standards, and trains could only run at 30 km per hour.

The Chinese company: China Railway Construction started work on this project in 2004. Liu Feng, head of the company's Angola railway project, said competitive price and quality helped the company win the bid for the project. The railway adopted Chinese standards and procured all equipment from China. It employed some 100,000 Angolan workers during construction and trained more than 10,000 to be technicians.