The United States on Wednesday formally announced the granting of a $553 million loan to modernize the strategic Lobito rail corridor in Angola. The announcement was made jointly by the U.S. International Development Finance Corporation (DFC) and Angolan authorities.
This financing, unveiled last year under the administration of former President Joe Biden, will be complemented by a $200 million contribution from the Development Bank of Southern Africa (DBSA). It will enable the rehabilitation of approximately 1,300 kilometers of railway tracks as well as the acquisition of new locomotives.
According to the DFC, the project addresses major economic and geostrategic challenges. The agency notes that Central Africa is rich in resources essential to U.S. industries, particularly strategic minerals critical to the technology and defense sectors. These investments also aim to secure supply chains and limit the influence of strategic competitors, foremost among them China.
Also supported by European partners, the Lobito line is intended to link the Angolan port to the border with the mineral-rich Democratic Republic of the Congo, as well as to Zambia. The project seeks to drastically reduce transport times for raw materials to the Atlantic coast, cutting them from around 45 days by road to less than two days by rail.
Angola’s Ministry of Transport уточ (typo fix in final): specifies that the loan will cover investments in railway infrastructure, maintenance workshops, signaling systems, and rolling stock, in order to sustainably improve the capacity, performance, and reliability of this strategic logistics corridor.