As multi-country infrastructure projects gain momentum across Southern Africa, Zambia, Angola and the Democratic Republic of the Congo have agreed to fast-track the development of the Lobito Corridor, a strategic transport artery that is expected to boost regional trade, investment and economic integration.
The commitment was recently formalized at a coordination meeting of the three countries’ finance, transport, trade and infrastructure ministers in Luanda.
The meeting was also attended by the European Union, international financial institutions including the African Development Bank and the World Bank Group, and bilateral partners from France, Germany, Italy, Japan and the United States. The EU is mobilizing €2 billion (approximately R38 billion) for the development of the corridor under the Global Gateway Initiative.
A statement from the Luanda conference said the three governments agreed to develop the corridor not just as a transport route, but as an integrated economic corridor that can foster agriculture, small and medium-sized business development, value-added mining, energy and urban growth, while strengthening access to global markets through the Atlantic Ocean.
The meeting approved four priority actions, key among them being the development of a Lobito Corridor Development Master Plan and the establishment of a joint investment platform to mobilize public and private capital. The Lobito Corridor is considered important, given that Zambia, Angola and the DRC are home to some of the world’s most important mineral deposits, such as copper and cobalt, and more than 30 million people live in the three countries.
By providing a more efficient route to international markets, the corridor is expected to reduce transportation costs, reduce dependence on long-distance export routes, and foster value addition and cross-border industrial development, while strengthening the three countries’ positions in the global mineral supply chain.
According to the Lobito Corridor Investment Promotion Agency, the railway line was established in the early 1900s and flourished until the mid-1970s, when its use was restricted due to damage from the Angolan civil war.
Its recovery is central to Zambia’s strategy to reposition itself from a landlocked country to a “land-linked” country by leveraging regional infrastructure projects and diversifying trade routes beyond ports in Tanzania and South Africa.
Zambia, which has a goal of producing 3 million tonnes of copper by 2031, sees the corridor as a key link not only to its mineral-rich northwestern province, which borders Angola and where major mining operations are taking place, but also to improving industrial logistics across the country.
Finance Minister Situmbeko Msokotwane said: “The Lobito Corridor is a strategic priority for Zambia.” “This will diversify exports, reduce transport and logistics costs, give producers more efficient access to the Atlantic Ocean and strengthen the competitiveness of mining, agriculture and value-added industries.”
As a complement to access to the west, Namibia gave Zambia free land to establish a dry port at Walvis Bay. In the east, the Zambian government is improving infrastructure at the Chanida border post and building a road from the border to the town of Katete to improve connectivity with the Nacala Corridor, which runs from Mozambique’s ports on the Indian Ocean.
