The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Angola and Zambia has announced plans to a new agency that will oversee the development and joint management o
The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Angola and Zambia has announced plans to a new agency that will oversee the development and joint management of a trade corridor to and from the Atlantic Ocean port of Lobito.
The Lobito Corridor represents an alternative strategic outlet to export markets for Zambia and DRC and offers the shortest route linking key mining regions in these two countries to the sea. In Angola, the Corridor connects 40% of the country’s population and several large scale investments are taking place in agriculture and retail in the provinces of Benguela, Huambo, Bie, and Moxico traversed by the Corridor.
Lobito Corridor
In DRC, the Corridor connects the mining provinces of Tanganyika, Haut-Lomami, Lualaba and Haut-Katanga. Copper concentrates are currently transported from these DRC Provinces to Zambia for smelting for further export and the Corridor offers a potential conduit to overseas markets. The Project has three main components, namely: (i) Capacity Building for Trade Facilitation and Corridor Coordination, (ii) Technical Assistance for Value Chains and Economic Clusters Development and (iii) Project Management.
The Lobito Corridor Management Institution will facilitate trade from Zambia and DRC over Angola’s 1,344km Benguela Railway, the three countries said at a recent ceremony in the Angolan port city. If the project succeeds, it may transform how the region’s resources are shipped, as it would serve as a key route to move metals used to make electric vehicles and wind turbines from inland mines to port, and cut transport times from weeks to days. DRC and Zambia are key suppliers of copper and cobalt, which are currently shipped via road to ports in South Africa and eastern Africa.
“The agency will ensure the availability of the Lobito Corridor to importers and exporters from the inland states of the DRC and Zambia as an efficient and economical supplement to other trade routes,” Ricardo Viegas D’Abreu, Angola’s transport minister, said in a speech.