US, EU Support New Zambia-Angola Rail Line

The EU and US have announced that they will launch feasibility studies in support of a new rail line between Zambia and Angola. It has been revealed that this commitment was signed during last weekend’s G20 summit in India.

The new line will be an extension of the Lobito Atlantic Railway that runs from coastal Angolan port Lobito to Kolwezi, in the southern region of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). The proposed extension would run from Luacano, Angola, to Chingola.

The line would be the next chapter in the development of the Trans-African corridor, designed to establish strong transport links across Africa in order to strengthen regional and global trade markets. The Lobito Corridor is the shortest route that can link key Zambian and Congolese mining regions to the sea.

The Lobito line forms part of the wider programme to upgrade infrastructure across sub-Saharan Africa, signed and announced on the sidelines of the Partnership for Global Infrastructure and Investment (PGII) at the G20 summit.

In a joint statement, the US and EU said that their joint project will help to unlock the “enormous potential of this region”. They added that they were “excited to join forces to generate economic benefits with our partners in Angola, the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Zambia”.

The EU and US will contribute financial and experiential resources to the Trans-African Corridor development, and prioritise further investment in digital access and agricultural value chains to strengthen regional competitiveness to the benefit of citizens. The US has also offered support in refurbishing the existing rail line between Lobito and the DRC.

Zambia, the DRC and Angola first signed an agreement on 27 January, titled “Lobito Corridor transit Transport Facilitation Agency (LCTTFA) Agreement”. The document establishes a framework, within which the three SADC member states will collaborate to develop corridor laws, policies and regulations, as well as coordinated infrastructure improvements. Chairperson of the project, Mapalao Rosemary Mokeona, the agreement is historic and has been 10 years in the making.

The rail line will create a smooth route to the sea port from the DRC’s Katanga province, and Zambia’s Copperbelt. The two regions are rich in cobalt and copper, two metals that will be central in the demand for electrical components that is expected to increase the need for both by between three and seven times by 2040.

Expected investment for the 1,555 wagons and 35 locomotives for the Angola-DRC section of the rail is USD $455 million for Angola, and $100 million for the DRC. How much money will be committed for the Zambian section of the line has yet to be announced.