The Democratic Republic of Congo and Angola have signed a new railway agreement aimed at improving transport between Central Africa’s mineral-rich regions and the Atlantic port of Lobito. The project is expected to ease logistics bottlenecks and provide mining companies with a shorter export route to Europe and North America.
The agreement was signed on 26 August by DRC President Félix Tshisekedi and Angolan President João Lourenço. It covers studies, rehabilitation, modernisation and expansion of the railway infrastructure, as well as its future operation and maintenance.
The estimated cost is approximately $1.258 billion, equivalent to around SEK 11.8 billion. The figure was provided by an official from the DRC president’s office to Platts, part of S&P Global Energy.
The investment forms part of the wider Lobito Corridor, which connects Angola’s Atlantic coast with the mining regions of the DRC and Zambia. The corridor is backed by the United States, the European Union, the African Development Bank and Africa Finance Corporation.
Shorter route from the Copperbelt to the Atlantic
The Lobito Corridor is based largely on the historic Benguela Railway. It runs from the port city of Lobito across Angola to the border with the DRC and onwards towards the country’s mineral-rich southeastern provinces.
The region is one of the world’s most important sources of copper and cobalt. These metals are used in power grids, batteries, electric vehicles, electronics and other technologies central to the global energy transition. Zambia is also a major copper producer and is expected to gain a closer railway connection to the corridor.
A fully developed connection would allow larger quantities of minerals and other bulk commodities to be transported by rail from the mines to the Atlantic. Exporters currently depend heavily on lengthy road and rail routes to ports on Africa’s eastern and southern coasts.
Minerals from the DRC and Zambia are transported through ports including Durban in South Africa, Dar es Salaam in Tanzania and Beira in Mozambique. These routes can be disrupted by delays at border crossings, congested roads and capacity constraints at ports.
In many cases, Lobito provides a shorter route from the Copperbelt to the sea. Its position on the Atlantic also offers more direct access to major shipping lanes serving Europe and North America.
Shorter transit times could reduce costs for mining companies and make deliveries more predictable. This is particularly important for metal producers handling large volumes, whose profitability can be affected by freight costs, border delays and port disruptions.
US and EU seek more secure mineral supplies
The investment also has a clear geopolitical dimension. Both the US and the EU are seeking to establish more stable supply chains for minerals needed in batteries, electric vehicles, wind turbines and modern defence technologies.
China currently holds a strong position in mineral processing as well as in the financing and development of mining and transport infrastructure in Africa. By supporting the Lobito Corridor, Western countries want to create additional trade routes and strengthen their economic relationships with Angola, the DRC and Zambia.
The corridor is therefore regarded as more than a conventional railway project. It forms part of a broader strategy to connect Central African mining production more closely with Western markets and reduce vulnerabilities in international supply chains.
For the African countries involved, the objective is for the project to generate wider economic benefits beyond the faster export of unprocessed minerals. Improved infrastructure could support the establishment of processing plants, logistics centres, agricultural businesses and other industries along the route.
A functioning railway could also provide regional companies with better access to imported machinery, spare parts, fuels and other production inputs. The corridor is additionally intended to improve passenger and freight transport between regional economic centres.
The project’s actual development impact will, however, depend on how the investments are distributed and whether local companies and communities are able to benefit from the new infrastructure. Previous large transport projects in resource-rich regions have sometimes served primarily as export routes without delivering the broader industrialisation initially promised.
Rail transport could reduce export emissions
Shifting freight from road to rail could reduce both emissions and wear on the road network. Copper ore, concentrate and other heavy commodities are transported in very large volumes, making rail particularly suitable for the task.
The project’s financial backers consequently argue that the Lobito Corridor could lower carbon emissions from mineral exports. The scale of the environmental benefits will depend on the railway’s future capacity, how its locomotives are powered and how much freight can actually be transferred from trucks to trains.
The agreement between the DRC and Angola allows the countries to proceed with technical studies, rehabilitation and modernisation. It also covers the expansion of supporting infrastructure and the organisation of future railway operations.
The challenges remain considerable. The corridor covers long distances and crosses several national borders, requiring coordinated customs procedures, compatible technical systems and efficient border crossings. An upgraded railway will provide only limited benefits if trains are delayed by administrative procedures or connecting terminals lack sufficient capacity.
The investment comes as the global copper market faces intense competition for concentrate supplies. Platts recently assessed treatment and refining charges for clean copper concentrate delivered to China at negative levels. Negative charges indicate that smelters are competing for limited raw material volumes.
This increases the strategic importance of reliable transport routes from African mines. If the Lobito Corridor is expanded as planned, the DRC and Zambia will gain an alternative to their traditional export routes, while Angola will strengthen Lobito’s position as one of Southern Africa’s most important Atlantic gateways.
