AfDB Approves $265 Million for Zambia’s Lobito Corridor Railway Project
The African Development Bank Group (AfDB) has approved $265 million to support Zambia’s participation in the Lobito Integrated Economic Corridor, advancing plans to establish a direct railway connection between Zambia and Angola.
The financing comprises a $255 million loan from the African Development Fund and a $10 million grant from the Rome Process/Mattei Plan Financing Facility.
The funding will support the first phase of Zambia’s Lobito Corridor development programme.
The programme includes approximately 550 kilometres of new railway in Zambia and the upgrading of 105 kilometres of the Mwinilunga–Jimbe road, alongside trade facilitation and institutional capacity-building measures.
The planned railway forms part of a wider 829-kilometre Zambia–Angola rail link, comprising about 550 kilometres in Zambia and 279 kilometres in Angola.
The line is expected to connect Chingola in Zambia’s Copperbelt with Angola’s existing rail network towards the Port of Lobito on the Atlantic coast.
The project is being structured as a public-private partnership, with a proposed 30-year concession covering the design, construction, financing, operation and maintenance of the railway. Africa Finance Corporation is serving as the project developer.
The new connection is expected to provide Zambia with an additional route to international markets, particularly for copper and other mineral exports, while also supporting the movement of agricultural and industrial goods.
By connecting directly to Angola’s Atlantic port, the railway could improve freight efficiency and provide greater flexibility for exporters.
The project also forms part of wider efforts to develop the Lobito Corridor as an integrated economic route rather than solely a mineral-export corridor.
Trade facilitation, logistics development and institutional strengthening are included alongside the physical infrastructure.
The AfDB plans to provide financing in phases, with the current approval representing the first major funding package.
The Bank has indicated that additional financing could be mobilised as the programme progresses, potentially taking its overall support to up to $500 million.
The investment is also expected to generate economic opportunities during construction and operation.
The AfDB estimates that the programme could create approximately 5,000 temporary jobs and 500 permanent positions, while providing training in railway construction, maintenance, logistics and corridor management.
For Zambia’s mining industry, the railway could become an important alternative export route for Copperbelt minerals.
Its eventual impact, however, will depend on the timely construction of the railway, effective cross-border coordination and the ability to attract sufficient freight volumes and private-sector investment.
The AfDB financing marks a significant step in advancing Zambia’s connection to the Lobito Corridor and establishing a new rail link between the Copperbelt and Angola’s Atlantic coast.
