the lobito corridor series: the timeline
august 18, 2023: MOU signed between lobito atlantic international and kamoa copper for trial shipments — the corridor's first firm commercial commitment.
december 23, 2023: approximately 1,110 tonnes of kamoa-kakula copper concentrate, loaded onto two trains in kolwezi, departed westward along the corridor.
december 31, 2023: first shipment arrived at lobito — 8 days after departure. the same journey by road to durban takes 40-50 days. to dar-es-salaam: 20-25 days. the corridor proved its transit time advantage with its very first commercial shipment.
february 7, 2024 — mining indaba, cape town: kamoa-kakula signed the reserve capacity agreement term sheet for 120,000-240,000 tonnes per annum, five-year minimum from 2025. trafigura signed simultaneously for up to 450,000 tonnes per annum over six years.
april 30, 2024: trial shipments extended to up to 20,000 tonnes.
september 2024: AFC, angola, and zambia signed the zambia concession agreement. US secretary blinken announced the completion of the initial feasibility study and launch of the environmental and social impact assessment for the zambia-lobito rail line. target groundbreaking: early 2026.
december 3, 2024: US total investment reached $4 billion — the largest US infrastructure investment commitment to africa in history.
december 2025: $753 million DFC/DBSA financing package signed for port mineral terminal rehabilitation and the 1,300km rail line.
the DRC section — the critical constraint: the 450km SNCC section between luau and kolwezi is severely degraded — operating at 10-15 km/h, less than 5% capacity. EU/US pre-feasibility study presented september 2025. DRC minister of finance submitted $500 million world bank loan request in october 2025. AFC $150 million loan for the kolwezi-to-kamoa-kakula rail spur advancing.
capacity target: LAR plans to scale from 160,000 tonnes/year in 2025 to 2 million tonnes/year by 2030 — six fully loaded trains per day.
for zambia: the 800km greenfield section from chingola to the angola border is in advanced preparation — environmental assessments underway, financing being structured. the most consequential milestone is still to come.
the lobito corridor series continues. 🇿🇲🚆