Representatives of a Chinese consortium will soon sign a contract to run the Angolan port of Lobito, Angop says, citing Lobito Port Chairman Celso Rosas.

Mr Rosas said the consortium of CITIC Construction Co. Ltd and Shandong Port Group Co. Ltd, both owned by the Chinese state, had made the winning bid at the international public auction of the concession to run the container and general cargo terminal at the port for the next 20 years, according to a report carried by the Angolan state-run news agency on Tuesday.

 The report quotes Angolan Transport Minister Ricardo Viegas de Abreu as saying the aim is to make the port more efficient and cut the amount of public money spent on it.

The port of Lobito has characteristics that other ports in that part of Africa lack, making it useful to the economies of Angola and its landlocked neighbours alike,  Angop quotes the minister as saying.