This S&P Global Insights article highlights the intensifying global competition for control over the mineral-rich African Copperbelt, spanning Zambia and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).
On one side, the Lobito Corridor has received commitments of over $1 billion from private companies, supported in part by a consortium backed by the US and EU.
This ambitious project aims to link the northern regions of Zambia and southern DRC directly to Angola’s Port of Lobito, optimizing the export of essential minerals like copper and cobalt.
The revamped Lobito Corridor is expected to handle 4.98 million metric tons of freight annually by its 20th year, significantly enhancing export efficiency.
On the other side, China is concentrating its efforts on revitalizing the TAZARA railway, an eastern route leading to Tanzania’s Dar es Salaam.
Once renovated, the renovated TAZARA aims to restore its original capacity of 5 million metric tons of cargo per year.
The Lobito Corridor initiative is increasingly relevant in today’s global context, where the demand for critical minerals for technologies and renewable energy solutions is surging.
While China aims to maintain control, the US and EU-backed group seeks to develop an alternative export route through the Lobito Corridor.
These dueling initiatives by some of the wealthiest nations on the planet will benefit the Copperbelt region, which needs infrastructure investments to alleviate the logistical bottlenecks that have long hampered the region’s mineral output.
The Lobito Corridor is positioned to become a critical artery in the global supply chain of strategic resources.
The network of ageing railway infrastructure connecting the mineral-rich areas of the Copperbelt straddling Zambia and the Democratic Republic of Congo to Africa’s major ports has emerged as an area of intense competition among global powers amid surging demand for critical minerals.
Motivated by a desire to break China’s grip on African mineral supply and bypass the logistical bottlenecks in South Africa that have constrained copper and cobalt exports in recent years, a US- and European Union-backed partnership is investing heavily in upgrading and extending the existing rail corridor linking northern Zambia and the southern DRC to the Port of Lobito in Angola.
In partnership with Angola, the DRC and Zambia, as well as the African Finance Corporation and the African Development Bank, the US and the EU have mobilized nearly $1 billion for the project through the Partnership for Global Infrastructure and Investment initiative (PGII).
The African Development Bank has committed around $500 million to the project while the US International Development Finance Corporation (DFC) is currently performing due diligence for a potential finance package of $250 million.
The EU has committed Eur972 million ($1.05 billion) to support African infrastructure projects, which includes the development of the Lobito Corridor.
SOURCE:lobitocorridor.org
