Africa’s push to secure a greater share of global critical-minerals value chains took a concrete step forward this week as Africa Finance Corporation announced the close of a $753 million financing package for Angola’s Lobito Atlantic Railway, a flagship cross-border logistics corridor linking the Atlantic coast to mineral-rich Central and Southern Africa.
AFC, alongside Eaglestone, acted as co-financial adviser to Lobito Atlantic Railway S.A., the concessionaire of the 1,300-kilometre brownfield rail line running from the Port of Lobito to the border with the Democratic Republic of Congo.
The financing—$553 million from the U.S. International Development Finance Corporation and $200 million from the Development Bank of Southern Africa—underpins the rehabilitation, upgrade and long-term operation of a rail corridor seen by policymakers and investors as strategically vital for trade, industrialisation and supply-chain resilience.
A Corridor Built for Scale
Once fully operational, the Lobito line is expected to increase annual freight capacity ten-fold to about 4.6 million metric tonnes and cut the cost of transporting critical minerals by roughly 30%, according to project estimates. That combination of scale and cost efficiency has elevated the corridor’s profile amid growing Western and Asian competition for access to copper, cobalt and other battery metals produced in the DRC and Zambia.
The project sponsors—Mota-Engil, Trafigura and Vecturis—bring engineering, commodities logistics and freight-rail operating expertise to what is among the most ambitious transport concessions currently underway in Southern Africa.
“This transaction demonstrates the role that structured, long-tenor project finance can play in unlocking regional trade,” said Samaila Zubairu, AFC’s president and chief executive, pointing to the corridor’s importance for Angola and its neighbours.
Angola’s Infrastructure Bet
For Angola, the Lobito Atlantic Railway represents more than a transport upgrade. It is part of a broader effort to reposition the country as a logistics gateway between inland mineral producers and global markets, while diversifying away from oil dependence.
Angola joined AFC as a member state in 2022 and became a shareholder in 2025, a progression that reflects the country’s increasing use of multilateral and development-finance partnerships to crowd in long-term capital for infrastructure. AFC has since expanded its advisory and investment footprint across Angolan transport, energy and industrial projects, including complementary greenfield rail initiatives.
Strategic Implications
Beyond construction-phase employment and skills transfer, the corridor is designed to anchor downstream economic activity along its route—warehousing, processing, and ancillary services—while tightening Southern Africa’s integration into global supply chains at a time of heightened geopolitical scrutiny over mineral sourcing.
For investors, the Lobito financing underscores a shift in African infrastructure deals toward bankable, export-linked assets backed by credible sponsors and development finance institutions—structures that reduce risk while delivering strategic impact.