Africa Finance Corporation (AFC) has acted as co-financial adviser on a $753 million financing package for Angola’s Lobito Atlantic Railway, a major regional transport project aimed at boosting mineral exports and cross-border trade in Southern Africa.
The financing comprises $553 million from the U.S. International Development Finance Corporation (DFC) and $200 million from the Development Bank of Southern Africa (DBSA). AFC advised alongside Eaglestone to Lobito Atlantic Railway S.A. (LAR), the borrower and concessionaire of the 1,300-kilometre railway corridor.
The project involves the rehabilitation, upgrade and operation of an existing rail line linking the Port of Lobito on Angola’s Atlantic coast to the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) border, a route seen as strategically important for the movement of copper, cobalt and other critical minerals to global markets.
Sponsors of the concession include Mota-Engil, Trafigura, and Vecturis, combining construction, commodities trading and rail operations expertise. Once operational, the corridor is expected to increase annual transport capacity nearly ten-fold to about 4.6 million metric tonnes and reduce mineral transport costs by an estimated 30%, according to project sponsors.
The Lobito Corridor has gained increased attention from international financiers as governments and development institutions seek to strengthen non-Chinese mineral supply chains and improve logistics infrastructure linking Central Africa’s mining regions to global trade routes.
Beyond trade, the project is expected to generate jobs, support skills development and improve safety standards along the corridor, while reinforcing Angola’s ambition to position itself as a regional logistics hub.
AFC said the transaction underscores its role in structuring complex, cross-border infrastructure financing, particularly in transport corridors with regional economic significance. Angola became an AFC member state in 2022 and progressed to shareholder status in 2025, deepening the institution’s involvement in the country’s infrastructure and industrial projects.
The Lobito Atlantic Railway is regarded as one of Southern Africa’s flagship transport investments, with backers viewing the successful financial close as a signal of renewed investor confidence in Angola’s infrastructure sector.
