Washington backs Lobito Corridor railway as Mota-Engil prepares to take control of its Congolese section, reports Africa Daily News Desk
The US is planning to provide up to $1 billion in financing for a 30-year concession to rehabilitate and operate a key railway in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), as Washington seeks to strengthen access to critical minerals and diversify supply chains.
Portugal’s largest construction company, Mota-Engil, is expected to sign an agreement to take control of the Congolese section of the Lobito Corridor, according to Bloomberg.
The railway, which stretches for roughly 1,000 kilometres, links major mining centres including Kolwezi, Tenke and Lubumbashi with the wider Lobito Corridor. The route is designed to transport copper and cobalt from the DRC’s mining regions through Angola to the Atlantic coast and onward to international markets.
The US International Development Finance Corporation (DFC) signed a letter of interest with Mota-Engil in December for financing of up to $1 billion to support the rehabilitation and operation of the Congolese railway.
The proposed investment comes as Washington seeks to strengthen its economic relationship with Kinshasa and reduce dependence on supply chains in which China has a dominant position.
Mota-Engil already operates part of the Lobito Corridor in Angola through a joint venture with commodities trader Trafigura. Taking responsibility for the Congolese section would expand the Portuguese company’s role in the transport network connecting Central Africa’s mineral-producing regions with Angola’s Atlantic port.
The DRC is the world’s second-largest copper producer and the leading producer of cobalt. Both minerals are important to industries including electric vehicles, renewable energy infrastructure and advanced technologies.
China has a significant presence in the DRC’s mining industry and controls a substantial share of the country’s copper and cobalt production and processing capacity.
The proposed US-backed railway project consequently comes amid wider competition over access to critical minerals and the infrastructure required to transport them.
The Lobito Corridor has gained international attention as an alternative export route for minerals from Central Africa. Its development is intended to improve connections between mining areas in the DRC and Zambia and the Atlantic port of Lobito in Angola.
Washington has increasingly focused on developing alternative supply chains for critical minerals as it seeks to reduce exposure to China. The railway investment would give the US-backed project a role in strengthening transport links from the DRC’s mineral-producing regions to global markets.
China is pursuing infrastructure investment in the region as well. It is advancing a separate $1.4 billion overhaul of the Tanzania-Zambia Railway, known as TAZARA.
The railway connects Zambia’s copper belt with the Indian Ocean port of Dar es Salaam in Tanzania, providing another major route for the movement of minerals from southern Africa.
The competing investments underline the growing strategic importance of railway networks, ports and trade corridors across Africa.
As demand for copper, cobalt and other critical minerals rises, transport infrastructure has become an increasingly important part of efforts to secure supplies and establish alternative trade routes.
For the DRC, the proposed concession could provide a long-term framework for rehabilitating and operating an important railway serving some of its key mining regions.
For Mota-Engil, the agreement would build on its existing involvement in the Lobito Corridor in Angola and extend its presence into the DRC.
For the US, the proposed financing forms part of a wider effort to strengthen access to critical minerals while supporting infrastructure that could provide alternatives to supply chains heavily influenced by China.
The project therefore places the Lobito Corridor at the centre of a broader contest over mineral supplies, infrastructure and economic influence in Africa.
