Zambia redirects $491 million US grant to support the Lobito Corridor and vital minerals
لدعم الاقتصادين الزراعي والمعدني في البلاد
Written by Ziad Abdel Fattah:
Zambia announced on Thursday that it had reached an agreement with US Millennium Challenge Corporation To expand the use of a $491 million grant, allowing for support of infrastructure related to the vital minerals sector alongside its original agricultural objectives.
The “farm-to-market” grant, signed in 2024, was primarily aimed at boosting agricultural development in Zambia, Africa’s second-largest copper producer, but the new agreement allows part of the funding to be directed to support infrastructure projects related to the strategic Lobito Economic Corridor.
The Zambian Ministry of Finance said in a statement that redirecting the scope of investments will contribute to supporting the country's agricultural and mining economies, particularly in areas along the Lobito Corridor, which is one of the most important economic and logistical projects in the region.
A major outlet for exporting vital minerals
The corridor relies on a railway line linking the Democratic Republic of Congo, Africa’s largest producer of copper and cobalt, with the Atlantic port of Lobito in Angola, providing a key outlet for exporting vital minerals to global markets.
The project is attracting increasing interest from Western countries seeking to secure the supply of minerals needed for the energy sector's transformation and to reduce dependence on China, which dominates the supply chains of many strategic minerals.
Zambia is working to connect its copper belt region to the corridor as part of its plans to boost mineral exports and improve infrastructure to support investment. The African Finance Corporation, the project's lead developer, had previously announced its intention to finalize financing arrangements during the last quarter of 2027.
The Ministry of Finance confirmed that part of the grant funding will be allocated to the rehabilitation of a number of priority roads in the North West and Copperbelt provinces, in line with the requirements of the Lobito Corridor, which is seen as one of the most prominent emerging trade and logistics corridors in the African continent.
