Angola, Zambia and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) have taken important steps to create a trade corridor that could transform the way the region’s resources are shipped.
“Harmonizing regulations on the corridor and infrastructure development would allow the three countries to transport metals used to manufacture electric vehicles and wind turbines from inland mines to port, reducing transport time from weeks to days,” he said. the mining company Pensana in a statement.
The agreement will allow the three states, all members of the South African Development Community (SADC), to jointly develop harmonized regulations and corridor systems to promote infrastructure development.
The Lobito Corridor will cross Angola and connect to the mining areas of Katanga province, in the DRC, and to the Copperbelt, in Zambia. “The Lobito Corridor presents an alternative strategic route to the export markets of Zambia and the DRC and offers the shortest route that connects the main mining regions of these two countries to the sea”, says the document.
The three countries agreed to jointly manage a commercial corridor to and from the Atlantic port of Lobito, recently awarded a concession to the Portuguese infrastructure group Mota-Engil, for a US$450 million upgrade.
The transport ministers of the three countries signed an agreement to facilitate the Lobito Corridor, which will link the port of Lobito, on the Atlantic Ocean, in Angola, to the interior of Minas Gerais.
