Infrastructure development along the Lobito Corridor has received a funding boost after Zambia and the United States signed an amendment redirecting investments under a $491 million (about R8.6 billion) Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) Compact programme.
The funding would support infrastructure, logistics and economic development linked to the corridor, which is increasingly being developed as an alternative export route for minerals and other commodities from Zambia and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Zambia's Ministry of Finance and National Planning said. The ministry said the upgrades could influence future mineral and bulk commodity transport patterns while creating opportunities for logistics providers operating in the region.
The corridor connects Zambia's mining and agricultural regions with Angola's Atlantic coast.
As part of the Roads and Access Project, priority roads earmarked for rehabilitation have been aligned with the Lobito Corridor in Zambia's North-Western and Copperbelt provinces. The ministry described the route as one of Africa's most significant emerging trade and logistics corridors.
"Compact investments will also support access to finance for electricity, logistics, processing equipment and infrastructure for small and medium-sized agricultural value chains," said Felix Nkulukusa, Secretary to the Treasury at Zambia's Ministry of Finance and National Planning.
The programme includes reforms aimed at increasing private-sector investment in grain production and trade, strengthening mining-sector governance, encouraging mineral exploration and improving the management of road infrastructure assets.
The corridor is growing in importance as an export route for copper, cobalt and agricultural commodities from Zambia and the DRC, the ministry said. The investment is expected to improve cargo mobility and strengthen links between production centres and export markets.
