(Ecofin Agency) - Zambia is to resume talks with the government of Angola as regards the construction of an oil pipeline, a senior government official said.

According to the Minister of Energy, David Mabumba (photo), a team from his ministry will meet officials from Angola on Friday to discuss on the way forward. The country’s investment agency, the Zambia Development Agency (ZDA), in 2012 signed a $2.5 billion memorandum of understanding (MoU) for the construction of a petroleum pipeline from the Angola city of Lobito to Lusaka, Zambia’s capital. The construction of this pipeline was expected to have begun in 2013 and completed in 2016.

Recently, the Zambian government removed fuel subsidies which have caused fuel pump prices to increase by 38%. Mabumba said the government was still interested in the project to help lessen the impact of fuel subsidies, Xinhua news reports.

According to the MoU, the project would also create about 6, 000 jobs in both countries. The project, which is expected to be named Angola-Zambia Refined Petroleum Multi-Product (AZOP), would cover 1, 400km from the Port City of Lobito, to Lusaka in Zambia.

The AZOP Pipeline system would be designed to supply finished products including petrol, low sulphur diesel, Jet fuel and Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) for Zambia, and Katanga Province in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Anita Fatunji