Africa-Press – Angola. Nicolas Gregoir, director-general of operations at Lobito Atlantic Railway (LAR), the operator of the Lobito Corridor project, announced on Friday in Benguela that a total of 32,000 tons of various products were transported via the corridor in November of this year.
Speaking at the conclusion of the general director of the International Finance Corporation (IFC), Makhtar Diop’s, visit to the LAR operations control center and office, Gregoir stressed that the operations conducted during that period represent an evolution aligned with the growth plan foreseen for 2025.
He confirmed that the port is operating normally with one daily shipment of copper and sulfur to the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) as part of the intended regional interconnection.
Gregoir said that for 2026, the focus is on continued growth in transporting goods and passengers and improving security procedures to reach one million tons of products by the end of the year.
He pointed to waiting times at borders and terminals as one of the challenges to overcome.
Regarding Diop’s visit, he considered it timely since it creates good prospects for supporting agricultural development associations and resolving the documentation
Lobito Corridor
The Lobito Corridor is a transportation route for people and goods comprised of roads and railways. It crosses Angola from Lobito to Luau (Moxico), passing through Kolwezi and Lubumbashi in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC).
It then enters Zambia through Chingola, ending in Ndola. There, rail connections are made to Indian Ocean ports in Dar es Salaam (Tanzania), Beira (Mozambique), and Durban (South Africa).
In 2018, the transport sector was assumed to be a fundamental pillar for economic diversification. One of its components was the recovery of the Lobito Corridor’s importance. The corridor extends 1,289 kilometers to the Angolan border.
After initial talks with neighboring countries about recovering the corridor as a whole, and due to some constraints regarding a common strategy, the Angolan government opted to address its section of the corridor. It began the recovery and modernization of the Lobito–Luau railway line.
In September 2021, the Angolan government opened an international tender for a concession to manage the Lobito Corridor.
The Lobito Atlantic Railway consortium won the tender, and the contract was formalized on July 4, 2023, in a ceremony attended by the presidents of Angola, the DRC, and Zambia.
The consortium includes: Trafigura (49.5%), Mota-Engil (49.5%), and Vecturis (1%), a Belgian company that specializes in rail transport.
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