Development financial institutions the Development Bank of Southern Africa (DBSA) and the US International Development Finance Corporation (DFC) have reached financial close on $786-million in funding for the Lobito Corridor railway project.
The project is a joint venture between infrastructure construction group Mota-Engil and metals logistics company Trafigura.
The Lobito Railway Corridor is one of the most important infrastructure projects in Southern Africa due to its physical and economic regional integration role within the Southern African Development Community (SADC).
It supports the rehabilitation, upgrade and long-term operation of the railway while linking the Copperbelt regions of the Democratic Republic of Congo and Zambia to the Port of Lobito, in Angola, which provides a western export gateway to the Atlantic Ocean for the two landlocked countries.
The project is a strategic regional infrastructure asset for exporting critical minerals, including copper and cobalt. Supporting the Lobito Corridor reinforces the DBSA’s commitment to building integrated regional economies through enhanced trade and cross-border connectivity, a mandate under the SADC and the African Continental Free Trade Area.
