The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) has approved a public-private partnership with Portugal's Mota-Engil SGPS SA for the complete rehabilitation of the Congolese section of the Lobito Corridor railway. This decision was endorsed by the Congolese government on July 10, according to minutes of a cabinet meeting. The rail line is crucial for transporting copper and cobalt from mining hubs including Kolwezi, Tenke, and Lubumbashi to Angola's Port of Lobito on the Atlantic coast. While the approval signifies a major step, the terms of the partnership, including investment amount, contract duration, financing structure, and Mota-Engil's 30-year operating agreement, are still under negotiation.
This development comes shortly after a significant financial close for the Angolan part of the Lobito Corridor. The US International Development Finance Corporation (DFC) and the Development Bank of Southern Africa (DBSA) provided a $753 million package to Lobito Atlantic Railway, the concessionaire operating the Angolan section. This financing includes a $553 million, 15-year DFC senior secured loan and a $200 million DBSA facility for upgrading the 1,300 km railway from Lobito to Luau on the DRC border, as well as the mineral terminal at Lobito. The overall Lobito Corridor project, spanning 2,600 km, has an estimated cost of $6-8 billion.
The Lobito Corridor is strategically important to the US, which has been promoting it as a trade-focused model for Africa to integrate infrastructure, regional cooperation, and critical minerals, thereby providing an alternative to Chinese mining investments in the region. The DFC had previously signed a letter of intent in December for up to $1 billion with Mota-Engil to support the rehabilitation and management of the railway in Congo. The DRC, being the world's second-largest copper producer and the top source of cobalt, is a vital source of these critical minerals, and US interest has grown as the administration seeks to reduce dependence on China for mineral products. An agreement in December between the US and Congo grants American investors preferential access to deposits of metals like copper, cobalt, lithium, and tantalum, underscoring the strategic nature of the Lobito Corridor.
