Lobito Atlantic Railway Targets 800,000 Tonnes as US Financing Boosts Logistics

Lobito Atlantic Railway (LAR) has announced it expects to double its international cargo volumes to 800,000 tonnes by 2025 following the first major financial drawdown from a United States-backed investment package. The expansion is a central component of the Lobito Corridor, a multi-billion dollar infrastructure project designed to link the mineral-rich Copperbelt in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and Zambia to the Atlantic coast of Angola.

The project received a significant boost following the initial drawdown of funds from the U.S. International Development Finance Corporation (DFC), which has committed a total of $553 million in project finance. This funding supports the 30-year concession awarded to the LAR consortium, which consists of global commodities trader Trafigura, Portuguese construction group Mota-Engil, and Belgian rail operator Vecturis.

The LAR consortium took over the operation and maintenance of the 1,300-kilometre rail line in 2023, pledging to modernise a corridor that had suffered from decades of underinvestment. The latest capital injection will facilitate the procurement of new rolling stock and the rehabilitation of existing track infrastructure, allowing the railway to move from its current limited capacity to a high-frequency industrial logistics service. The group intends to invest approximately $455 million in Angola and a further $100 million in the DRC during the concession period.

Strategic interest in the corridor has intensified as Western powers seek to secure supply chains for critical minerals. The DRC is the world’s largest producer of cobalt and Africa’s top copper producer, both of which are essential for the global transition to green energy and electric vehicle manufacturing. Currently, much of this material is transported via road to ports in South Africa, Tanzania, or Namibia, a process that can take several weeks and faces significant congestion at border crossings.

Finance Financing Milestone Triggers Railway Infrastructure Upgrades

The acceleration of the Lobito Corridor is part of the Partnership for Global Infrastructure and Investment (PGI), a G7 initiative designed to provide an alternative to China’s Belt and Road Initiative. By backing the railway, the U.S. and the European Union aim to reduce transit times for minerals from the interior of the continent to global markets. LAR officials estimate that once the upgrades are complete, the transit time from the DRC border to the Port of Lobito will be reduced to under 40 hours.

Operational improvements are already underway. The consortium has confirmed plans to procure 1,550 wagons and 35 locomotives to handle the projected surge in demand. Beyond minerals, the railway is expected to carry agricultural products, fuel, and consumer goods, stimulating domestic trade within Angola’s hinterland. The doubling of international cargo to 800,000 tonnes is viewed by analysts as a conservative milestone, with the corridor potentially reaching a capacity of millions of tonnes annually as the full rail network is integrated.

The project is not limited to the existing Angolan line. The Africa Finance Corporation (AFC) has been appointed as the lead developer for the extension of the corridor into Zambia. This greenfield project involves the construction of approximately 800 kilometres of new rail line connecting the northwest of Zambia to the Angolan border. The AFC, alongside the African Development Bank, is working to de-risk the project and attract private capital for this secondary phase.

For the Angolan government, the Lobito Corridor represents a vital tool for economic diversification. The Port of Lobito, which serves as the terminus for the railway, is undergoing its own modernisation to handle increased container traffic and bulk mineral exports. By positioning itself as a regional logistics hub, Angola hopes to reduce its heavy reliance on crude oil exports, which currently account for the vast majority of its foreign exchange earnings.

The success of the 800,000-tonne target will depend on the continued pace of track rehabilitation and the seamless integration of customs procedures between Angola and the DRC. Industry experts suggest that the Western commitment to the corridor provides a rare level of long-term financial certainty for African infrastructure. As the first major drawdown of U.S. funds begins to flow into actual construction and equipment procurement, the Lobito Corridor is moving from a geopolitical concept to a functioning commercial reality.

Looking ahead, the consortium expects to ramp up trial shipments throughout the remainder of 2024. The completion of the feasibility study for the Zambian extension, expected in the coming months, will be the next major indicator of the corridor’s ability to serve as a truly transcontinental trade route. If targets are met, the Lobito Atlantic Railway could fundamentally reshape the economics of Central African trade by the end of the decade.

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