The Lobito Corridor: Angola, DR Congo and Zambia
- Countries
- Angola, DR Congo and Zambia 1
- Facilitation agreement signed
- 27 January 2023, at Lobito port 1
- Planned capacity
- 4.6 million tonnes, a tenfold rise, according to DFC 5
- Planned Zambia line
- About 800 km, Luacano to Chingola 6
What the corridor is
Ministers of transport from Angola, DR Congo and Zambia signed the Lobito Corridor Transit Transport Facilitation Agency Agreement at Lobito port on 27 January 2023 1. SADC says the corridor runs east from Lobito through the Angolan provinces of Benguela, Huambo, Bié and Moxico. It serves the mining areas of Katanga in DR Congo and the Zambian Copperbelt 1.
The agreement sets up a framework for joint corridor laws, policies, regulations and infrastructure. The SADC Secretariat in Gaborone supports it 1. In December 2023 SADC said the agreement still had to be ratified and called on member states to speed up the process 2. The same release said dry ports for DR Congo and Zambia were to be planned at Lobito port. It named the European Union, the United States, the African Development Bank and the Africa Finance Corporation as cooperating partners 2.
The Benguela Railway concession
Lobito Atlantic Railway holds a 30-year concession to upgrade and run the Benguela Railway from Lobito to Luau on the DR Congo border 4,5. Its owner is the Lobito Atlantic Holdings consortium of Trafigura, Mota-Engil and Vecturis 4.
The US International Development Finance Corporation (DFC) announced a loan of up to US$553 million on 4 December 2024. It described the project as a brownfield mineral port at Lobito and an approximately 1,300 km rail line to Luau 3. Press reports in December 2025 gave the line length as 1,289 km 4,5.
Financing signed in December 2025
The loans were signed in Washington on 17 December 2025, as reported by Robert Preston in International Railway Journal and Terence Creamer in Mining Weekly 4,5. The money is for track, workshops, signalling and rolling stock 4.
The planned Zambia link
The Africa Finance Corporation (AFC) signed concession agreements with Angola and Zambia on 25 September 2024 to finance, build, own and run a new line, as reported by Kevin Smith in International Railway Journal 6. The line would run about 800 km from the Benguela Railway at Luacano in Angola to the Zambia Railways railhead at Chingola, on 1,067 mm gauge 6.
The report says the US Trade and Development Agency is giving a US$2 million grant for environmental and social impact studies. It gives no project cost or construction dates 6.
Charges and transit times
None of the sources for this page publish a rail tariff, port tariff or transit time for the corridor 1,23,45,6. DFC says the upgrade will raise capacity tenfold to 4.6 million tonnes and cut the cost of moving critical minerals by up to 30% 4,5. DFC says it expects the project to reduce freight transit times and costs 3.
Common questions
Which countries does the Lobito Corridor cover?
Angola, DR Congo and Zambia, which signed a facilitation agreement on 27 January 2023 1.
Who runs the Benguela Railway?
Lobito Atlantic Railway, under a 30-year concession 4.
How long is the Benguela Railway?
1,289 km from Lobito to Luau, according to December 2025 press reports. DFC gave about 1,300 km in 2024 3,4.
How much financing has the railway raised?
US$753 million in loans signed on 17 December 2025, from DFC and the Development Bank of Southern Africa 4,5.
Does the Lobito railway reach Zambia?
Not yet. The Benguela Railway ends at Luau on the DR Congo border 4. A new line of about 800 km from Luacano to Chingola is planned under concessions signed in September 2024 6.
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Sources
- SADC: Angola, DRC and Zambia sign Lobito Corridor Transit Transport Facilitation Agency Agreement (25 January 2023)
- SADC Secretariat: Press release, Lobito Corridor meetings, Gaborone (14 December 2023)
- US International Development Finance Corporation: DFC announces investments supporting development along Lobito Corridor (4 December 2024)
- International Railway Journal: Finance secured for Lobito Corridor upgrade in Angola, by Robert Preston (18 December 2025)
- Mining Weekly: DBSA says US$200m Lobito loan in line with regional integration strategy, by Terence Creamer (18 December 2025)
- International Railway Journal: Zambia Lobito concessions signed, by Kevin Smith (4 October 2024)
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