LUSAKA, Zambia – August 8, 2026 – The African Development Bank Group (AfDB) has approved a $255 million loan and a $10 million grant to support Zambia’s participation in the transformative Lobito Economic Corridor, a landmark regional infrastructure project expected to generate approximately 5,000 jobs and reshape trade routes across Southern and Central Africa.
The financing package—comprising a $255 million loan from the African Development Fund and a $10 million grant from the Rome Process/Mattei Plan Financing Facility—represents the first phase of a broader investment that could reach up to $500 million in subsequent phases. The project forms part of a coordinated effort with multilateral and bilateral partners to advance an integrated economic corridor approach linking transport infrastructure with trade facilitation, agriculture, energy, urban development, and institutional capacity.
Connecting Three Nations to the Atlantic
The Lobito Corridor spans Southern and Central Africa, linking Angola, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), and Zambia from the Port of Lobito on Angola’s Atlantic coast to Zambia’s mineral-rich Copperbelt region. For a landlocked economy like Zambia, the corridor provides a crucial new export route that could reduce logistics costs, strengthen supply-chain reliability, and unlock new investment opportunities across the region.
Under the first phase of the project, Zambia will construct approximately 550 kilometres of new railway infrastructure connecting the country to Angola and the Port of Lobito. In addition, 105 kilometres of the Mwinilunga-Jimbe road will be upgraded. The project also includes trade facilitation measures, institutional support, and capacity-building initiatives designed to ensure the corridor functions as an integrated economic system rather than merely a transport route.
Jobs, Training, and Inclusive Growth
The project is expected to create approximately 500 permanent jobs and 5,000 temporary jobs across construction, logistics, one-stop border post operations, and professional services. At least 300 people will receive training in rail and road construction and maintenance, while 50 people will be trained in corridor management, logistics, climate safeguards, and monitoring and evaluation, with a particular focus on increasing opportunities for women and young people.
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“The Lobito Corridor is more than a transport investment; it is a platform for regional integration, industrialisation and economic transformation,” said Mike Salawou, Director for Infrastructure and Urban Development at the African Development Bank. “This approval marks an important step in unlocking new opportunities for trade, investment and jobs across the region”.
A Historic Trade Route Revived
The Lobito Corridor follows the historic route of the former Benguela Railway, which for many years provided the most economical route for mining operations across the region before being disrupted by conflict. Following the revitalization of the Angola–DRC line through a concession to the Lobito Atlantic Railway (LAR), the line now presents a strong business case for interconnection to Zambia. The three corridor member countries have signed a joint agreement for its revitalization and development.
The Bank’s financing builds on the ongoing Lobito Corridor Trade Facilitation Project and supports the operationalisation of the Lobito Corridor Transit Transport Facilitation Agency. It also supports the Bank’s Regional Integration Strategic Framework and the Southern Africa Regional Integration Strategy Paper.
Beyond Transport: An Economic Transformation Platform
The project’s emphasis extends beyond infrastructure. By linking Zambia’s Copperbelt and other mineral-rich and agricultural regions to the Atlantic, the corridor will provide a more efficient export route while promoting value addition through integrated rail and road investments. The Bank expects the project to attract private sector participation, improve access to capital, and deliver climate-resilient infrastructure.
“The Lobito Corridor teaches us new ways to design trade corridors by looking beyond the backbone of transportation and focusing on integrating agriculture, energy, and urban development,” the Bank has previously noted. The initiative represents an attempt to create an integrated economic corridor rather than a railway whose principal purpose is simply to move freight.
The project is expected to be implemented in phases, with the current approval representing the first tranche under the African Development Fund’s sixteenth replenishment. Additional resource mobilisation is envisaged to reach up to $500 million in total Bank support, with groundbreaking planned for late 2026 or early 2027.
