The Lobito Corridor has benefited from direct funding of 550 million US dollars from the Development Finance Corporation (DFC) to boost regional development.
The information was announced on Tuesday in Washington DC by the US State Department’s special coordinator for the Global Infrastructure and Investment Partnership, Helaina Matza.
The official, who was speaking as part of President Joe Biden’s visit to Angola from 2 to 4 December, said that the funding was used to refurbish the Benguela railway line that connects Lobito to the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).
He considered the project special because it was designed as a true public-private partnership.
The DFC is an institution and development finance agency of the US federal government that invests in development projects mainly in low- and middle-income countries.
Helaina Matza said that the Lobito Corridor is part of a regionally led effort that the US, together with European and private sector partners, has supported through strategic investments.
According to the source, the Lobito Corridor will be part of a very robust trip by the US statesman to Angola, which will highlight many important elements of the bilateral relationship with Africa and his vision for the continent.
He noted that although the infrastructure is primarily focused on physically connecting three countries, the implication of this improved regional connectivity should have knock-on effects of reducing trade costs and strengthening supply chains.
For him, the idea of the Lobito Corridor is to be an open and competitive access network, not only for railway users, but also so that it can connect with other projects on the continent.
He clarified that this is a vision developed on the continent about regional connectivity through the Agenda 2063 project, within the framework of the experience of other successful corridors in other parts of the continent, such as the Central Corridor.
He also revealed that the United States has a collective commitment for global support among the G7 countries of 600 billion US dollars or more by 2027.
According to Helaina Matza, the idea of the initiative for a broader approach to the Lobito Corridor is not only to close this infrastructure gap in the most innovative way, but also to provide sustainable solutions that drive economic growth, improve regional connectivity and promote prosperity.
He emphasized that this included not only anchor rail investments, but also huge unique investments in clean energy, agriculture, “bringing all the tools we have as a US government and with our partners to the table”.
Strategic partner
The US official acknowledged that Angola has been one of the strongest partners and a kind of bridgehead for these initial investments by the United States in the Lobito corridor.
Argued that these rail investments cut transport costs, reduce overland transport times and open access to arable farmland and strengthen the supply chain for critical energy minerals, Boosting climate-resilient economic growth in the region.
Highlighted other US investments in the country, which include providing 180 prefabricated bridges to improve connectivity in Angola and working in the digital space with partners like Africell to expand mobile money programs.
Lobito Corridor
The Lobito Corridor is a strategic route for the dynamization of the potential of economic diversification in the Republic of Angola. The Benguela railway line runs 1,344 kilometers from the port of Lobito to Luau, in the province of Moxico, bordering the DRC.
It crosses four Angolan provinces, Benguela, Huambo, Bié and Moxico), connecting 40 percent of the country’s population, boosting large-scale investments in agriculture and trade. And the four provinces crossed by the Corredor do Lobito, which are fundamental for agricultural development with value chains in cereals such as corn, soybeans, wheat and rice, tubers, beans, vegetables and fruits.
The Lobito Corridor is internationally known as the 2 oceans route, since it connects by land the Atlantic and the Indian Ocean.
It is therefore the main alternative route to export markets from countries such as Zambia and DRC, since it offers a shorter route to the major mining regions of the two countries bordering the Indian Ocean.
The CL will create opportunities for the development of small businesses adjacent to rail transport and a competitive railway alternative to road transport.
Source: Angop
