China-built Benguela railway ready for first trip  

中国铁建海外最长铁路竣工 打造安哥拉“第一速度”

Beijing (ECNS) – The Benguela railway, the longest China-built rail overseas using Chinese standards, will start operations soon.

The 1,344-kilometer (835-mile) line linking Angola and the Democratic Republic of Congo was completed on Aug 13 after 10 years of construction, according to the China Railway Construction Corp., the railway contractor.

The line will be the fastest rail in Angola, enabling trains to run at 90 miles per hour.

It's the longest China-built railway overseas using Chinese standards, after the Tanzania-Zambia Railway in the 1970s.

The Chinese standard won over the European one for its lower cost, shorter construction time and better quality, according to Liu Feng, engineering chief of the $1.83 billion project. Materials used in the construction and the locomotives were also provided by China.

More than 20 Chinese workers lost their lives to accidents, disease and torpedoes during construction. Angolan President Jose Eduardo dos Santos set up a monument near the capital city Luanda to honor the workers.

The line reaches a vast area of the continent's interior, connecting important cities such as Benguela, Lobito and Luao.

It'll significantly cut the time for copper and other resources to be transported from Congo and Zambia to markets out of Africa, and bring more traffic and trade to these economies to help regional development.