U.S.-Backed Angola Rail Plan Secures $200M From Key Bank

The Development Bank of Southern Africa has approved as much as $200 million for the U.S.-backed Lobito corridor rail project that will haul critical minerals from central Africa’s copper belt to an Atlantic port in Angola.

“The railway line is part of a broader strategy to support the energy transition by facilitating the export of critical minerals needed for renewable-energy technologies,” Mpho Mokwele, executive for transacting at DBSA, said in a statement on September 3. “The Lobito corridor is expected to become the most competitive route for exporting these minerals, offering significant cost and time savings for exporters.”

The lender is providing the financing alongside the U.S. International Development Finance Corp., which has approved $553 million for the project. A group that includes commodities trader Trafigura Group and Portuguese construction company Mota Engil SGPS SA won a 30-year concession to operate the railway line that links the Lobito port to Angola’s border with the Democratic Republic of Congo. 

The project is part of a U.S. plan to secure access to critical minerals such as copper and cobalt, while at the same time trying to gain influence in a region that China has dominated. The Chinese government is set to sign a deal this week with Zambia and Tanzania to upgrade and take over the concession for another rail line that links copper mines with the Indian Ocean port of Dar es Salaam.