China Railway 20 Bureau Group Corp. (CR20) has turned over to the Angolan government the Benguela Railway, which CR20 rebuilt for US$1.83 billion, Xinhua reports.

The Chinese government-run news agency says the Angolan stretch of the railway runs east for 1,344 km from the coastal city of Lobito through Benguela, Huambo, Kuito and Luena, to Luau on the Congolese border.

The report quotes Luís Lopes Teixeira, the chairman of the company that operates the railway, Empresa do Caminho de Ferro de Benguela EP, as saying at the turnover ceremony that a new era of investment in Angola is beginning, and that he is confident CR20 will contribute to maintaining and operating the railway.

The rebuilding work employed over 25,000 Angolans, and 5,000 have been trained to run the railway, Xinhua says.