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# [DRC / AFRICA] Lobito Corridor: $753 Million to Connect Congolese Copper to the Atlantic
- URL: https://businessoi.media/en/rdc-afrique-corridor-de-lobito-753-millions-de-dollars-pour-relier-le-cuivre-congolais-a-latlantique-en/
- Published: 2026-07-27T02:46:41.000Z
- Updated: 2026-07-27T02:46:41.000Z
- Description: The DRC approved the Mota-Engil partnership on July 10, 2026 to rehabilitate 450 km of rail. With $753M in financing and -30% logistics costs, Congolese copper reaches the Atlantic in 7 days.
- Author: Emmanuel TAOCHY
- Tags: Afrique, Investissement, Économie, Revue matinale, #en

The Democratic Republic of Congo approved on July 10, 2026 a strategic partnership with Portuguese group Mota-Engil to rehabilitate 450 kilometres of railway line as part of the Lobito Corridor. With **$753 million** in financing already secured and a projected 30% reduction in logistics costs, this project is set to reshape how Congolese copper and cobalt reaches global markets.

## A continent-spanning rail corridor

The Lobito Corridor links the Angolan port of Lobito — on the Atlantic coast — to the mining provinces of Katanga in the DRC. The DRC section (450 km) runs through Kolwezi, Tenke and Lubumbashi to the Zambian border. The full project, including the already-rehabilitated Angolan segment (1,300 km), represents one of Africa's largest railway infrastructure investments this decade.

The Africa Finance Corporation (AFC) closed a **$753 million** financing package in July 2026 for the Angolan section. The US International Development Finance Corporation (DFC) committed up to $553 million for the DRC portion, with additional backing from the World Bank ($500 million), the African Development Bank, and the EU's Global Gateway (€116 million).

## \-30% on logistics costs: the game-changing figure

Today, Congolese minerals are mostly routed south through the port of Durban — a 25-day journey. Via Lobito, transit time drops to **7 days** to the Atlantic, with an estimated 30% reduction in logistics costs. A decisive competitive edge for copper, cobalt, zinc and lithium mines in Katanga.

The DRC is the world's largest cobalt producer — the key material for EV batteries — and the second-largest copper producer after Chile. The ramp-up plan targets an increase from 12 to 20 freight trains per week by 2027.

## A tailored partnership with Mota-Engil

Portugal's Mota-Engil is the primary EPC (Engineering, Procurement, Construction) contractor for the DRC rehabilitation. It will co-invest with commodity trader Trafigura and Belgian railway specialist Vecturis SA. The SNCC, DRC's state railway company, remains the public operator partner.

The Congolese Cabinet validated the concession on July 10, 2026\. Major construction work is expected to begin in Q4 2026\. The line had been shut by flooding in April 2026; freight traffic has since resumed.

## Why this matters

The Lobito Corridor positions central Africa and the DRC at the heart of global energy transition supply chains. For Indian Ocean countries — which trade with the DRC and depend on African minerals — this is a major reshaping of transcontinental trade flows worth watching closely.