Lobito Atlantic Railway expects to double international cargo volumes next year as it ramps up investment following its first drawdown from a $753 million financing package supporting the US-backed Lobito Corridor.
The railway operator received about $300 million in June and is using the funds to expand capacity, buy new wagons and containers, repair sections of the railway and improve coordination between Angola and the Democratic Republic of Congo, CEO Nicolas Fournier said.
LAR expects to transport about 400,000 tons of international cargo this year. About half of that is expected to be copper and cobalt moving from Congo to Angola’s Atlantic coast, with a similar volume of freight travelling in the opposite direction, Bloomberg reported.
The company is targeting roughly 800,000 tons in 2027 as demand for the corridor grows.
A key route for critical minerals
