What’s happened?

In late 2023 Angola’s port of Lobito received its first consignment of 960 tonnes of copper from the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) through the new Lobito railway corridor. EIU believes that the opening of the Lobito corridor will markedly reduce transport costs and widen Angola’s trade opportunities with other countries in the region, particularly the DRC and Zambia.

Why does it matter?

The opening of the Lobito railway corridor is a significant milestone for Angola and its landlocked, mineral-rich neighbours. Strategic minerals such as copper, cobalt and lithium from the DRC and Zambia will now be exported more efficiently to global markets through the Lobito corridor. Previous consignments from the DRC and Zambia would pass through the ports of Dar es Salaam in Tanzania, Beira in Mozambique or Durban in South Africa, which involved long delivery times and high transport costs. 

The Lobito railway is being managed by Lobito Atlantic Railway—a consortium comprising Trafigura (Switzerland, with a 49.5% stake), Mota-Engil (Portugal, with a 49.4% stake) and Vecturis (Belgium, with a 1% stake)—under a 30‑year concession from the Angolan government. The consortium is planning further investment of US$450m in Angola for railway infrastructure modernisation, including acquiring 1,500 wagons and 35 locomotives, alongside an additional US$100m investment in the DRC and an extension of the railway line to Zambia, although no timelines have been set.

At full capacity, the railway line will be able to handle merchandise volume of 5m tonnes annually (up from less than 1m tonnes currently), primarily sourced from the DRC and Zambia.The project has received financial support, including from the US government (which pledged US$250m) and the EU, owing to improved relations between Angola and Western countries under the administration of the current president, João Lourenço. Future expansion plans include extending the railway to Tanzania and the Indian Ocean, but these remain a distant prospect. The project is a game changer for Angola, the DRC and Zambia. However, revenue will be diverted away from other regional countries, such as South Africa, Mozambique and Zimbabwe, owing to reduced traffic on the roads and at border posts, and at shipping terminals in South Africa and Mozambique.

What is next?

We expect the Lobito railway corridor to support regional integration by reducing transport costs. We project that the railway’s capacity will improve as more rail infrastructure investments are implemented over the 30‑year concession period. This will increase Angola’s revenue through concession payments, which are expected to reach close to US$1bn towards the end of the concession.

The analysis and forecasts featured in this piece can be found in EIU’s Country Analysis service. This integrated solution provides unmatched global insights covering the economic, political and policy outlook for nearly 200 countries, helping organisations identify prospective opportunities and potential risks.