DRC formalises its rail bet on the Lobito Corridor
The Congolese government has approved a collaboration convention with Mota-Engil Africa for the Dilolo–Sakania railway, under a public‑private partnership framework.
The convention mandates financing, rehabilitation, modernisation, operation, and maintenance of the line. At the end of the concession, the railway transfers to the state. Structured as a public‑private partnership, the investment is estimated at US$1.258 billion.
The line runs from Dilolo, on the Angolan border, to Sakania, on the Zambian frontier. It crosses the Congolese Copperbelt, linking major mining provinces directly to Angola’s Port of Lobito. Once modernised, the route is expected to lift freight capacity to about 13.7 million tonnes per year. That positions rail as a credible alternative to road for bulk copper and cobalt exports.
What does the Lobito Corridor financing mean for investors?
Momentum on the Angola segment is equally strong. Lobito Atlantic Railway reached financial close on a financing package of about US$753 million. The package comprises a US$553 million loan from the U.S. International Development Finance Corporation and US$200 million from the Development Bank of Southern Africa. Financing agreements were signed in Washington in December 2025, with financial close reached in mid‑2026.
Africa Finance Corporation was named co‑financial adviser alongside Eaglestone for the Lobito Corridor Railway Project. Their involvement signals growing African balance-sheet participation in the project. The funds support rehabilitation and long‑term operation of roughly 1,289 kilometres of rail between the Port of Lobito and the DRC border.
In October 2023, the United States, the European Union, Angola, Zambia, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo signed a memorandum of understanding to develop the Lobito Corridor.
Mining traffic already moving
Ivanhoe Mines‘ Kamoa‑Kakula complex began shipping copper anodes via the Lobito Corridor in Q1 2026. Trial shipments started in January 2024 under a Reserved Capacity Agreement. The DRC’s convention with Mota‑Engil Africa adds a critical domestic feeder line that, once rehabilitated and modernised, can scale with mine output.
Quick answers
The DRC government approved a US$1.258 billion public-private partnership with Mota-Engil Africa to finance, rehabilitate, and operate the 1,004.5-kilometre Dilolo–Sakania railway, which connects the Congolese Copperbelt to the Port of Lobito in Angola.
Lobito Atlantic Railway closed a US$753 million financing package, comprising a US$553 million loan from the U.S. International Development Finance Corporation and US$200 million from the Development Bank of Southern Africa, with agreements signed in December 2025.
Yes. Ivanhoe Mines’ Kamoa-Kakula complex began shipping copper anodes via the Lobito Corridor in Q1 2026, following trial shipments that started in January 2024 under a reserved capacity agreement.
