The African Development Bank has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), joining global partners to mobilize resources for the Lobito Corridor and the Zambia-Lobito rail line in southern and central Africa.
Other signatories included the United States government, the European Commission, the Africa Finance Corporation (AFC), and the host governments of Zambia, Angola and the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC).
The MoU, signed October 27, outlines the partners’ intentions to collaborate across multiple sectors to realize the full economic potential of the corridor, building on the Lobito Corridor Transit Transport Facilitation Agency agreement signed by the three African governments in January this year.
The works entail the construction of approximately 550 km of rail line in Zambia from the Jimbe border to Chingola in the Zambian copper belt and the 260 km of main feeder roads within the corridor.
When completed, the program will expand an economic corridor connecting the host countries to global markets to enhance regional trade and growth, and to advance the shared vision of connected, open-access rail from the Atlantic Ocean to the Indian Ocean.
The three countries joined together in January 2023 to launch the Lobito Corridor Transit Transport Facilitation Agency Agreement, based in Lobito, to accelerate growth in domestic and cross-border trade along the Lobito Corridor through the implementation of harmonized trade facilitation instruments, strengthening coordination of joint corridor development activities, and fostering effective participation of small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in value chains.
The program will create thousands of jobs and industrial opportunities for the private sector along the entire Lobito Corridor, connecting with Angola and DRC.
Read the full release from the African Development Bank Group here.