The USA and EU pledge support for Africa’s Lobito Corridor

LUANDA, September 12, 2023 – The USA and the EU have teamed up to support the Lobito Corridor trade route linking Zambia and Democratic Republic of Congo to Angola’s Port of Lobito, the nations announced at the 2023 G20 New Delhi summit in India on Saturday.

The USA and EU have launched a feasibility study for a greenfield rail line expansion between Zambia and Angola as part of the project.

This builds on the USA’s previous USD 250-million commitment to refurbish the railway from Port of Lobito to northern Zambia through the US International Development Finance Corporation.

In July 2023, Lobito Atlantic Railway took over as head of operations, management and maintenance of a 1,340-kilometre railway section of the project linking Port of Lobito to Luau in eastern Angola.

Lobito Atlantic Railway is a consortium consisting of multinational commodity trading company Trafigura with 49.5% shares, Portuguese construction company Mota-Engil with 49.5% shares and railway operator Vecturis with the remaining 1% shares.

The group intends the link to handle around 1 million tonnes of imports and exports per year after five years of operation.

The railway continues by 400 kilometres to Kolwezi in the Democratic Republic of Congo and to Democratic Republic of Congo National Railways’ network.

The Lobito Corridor’s expansion plan includes extending the corridor to reach Lubumbashi in southern Democratic of Congo and onwards to Zambia.

The project intends to unlock the economic potential of Sub-Saharan Africa by enhancing transport routes for minerals, including copper, cobalt, manganese, zinc and lithium to international markets.

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