LOBITO: US President Joe Biden met African leaders in the Angolan port of Lobito on Wednesday to advance a plan to extend a railway that could channel critical minerals from Congo and Zambia to the West via Lobito. The United States has provided a $550 million loan to support the Lobito venture, which involves refurbishing an existing railway through Angola and extending it into Congo's mining heartland as part of the first phase.
No date has been given for its completion yet, while a second phase that would link Lobito to Zambia via a new railway line is still at the preparation stage, with an aim to break ground in 2026 according to Washington.
The presidents of Angola, Congo and Zambia and the vice president of Tanzania joined Biden for a summit in Lobito on the last day of his first and only trip to Africa as president. The second phase of the project envisions extending the Lobito corridor railway through Zambia. — Reuters
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