US committed to funding Angola s Lobito rail corridor despite spending cuts diplomat says

LUANDA - The United States remains committed to funding the Lobito rail corridor, a project to help transport critical minerals from the central African copperbelt to the West, despite President Donald Trumps aggressive spending cuts, a U.S. diplomat said.

The U.S, through its International Development Finance Corporation, set up during Trumps first term in 2019, has pledged a $550 million loan to support Lobito, which is considered key in countering Chinese control over copper and cobalt supplies in the region.

Trumps spending cuts had raised concerns for projects such as Lobito which has plans for Angola, Democratic Republic of Congo and Zambia. But the U.S. Ambassador to Angola, James Story, sought to allay fears on Wednesday.

Story was accompanied by European diplomats, Angolan officials and executives from Lobito Atlantic Railways on a tour of projects in Angola.

Asked if funding for the Lobito corridor was at risk, Story said: Not at the moment. All the projects with the DFC and also with the Exim Bank are there and were working on them.

Various organisations say that were moving away from this project, but thats not true, Story said.

In 2022, Angola handed a 30-year Lobito corridor concession to the Lobito Atlantic Railway consortium joint-venture led by commodities firm Trafigura, construction giant Mota-Engil and independent rail operator Vecturis SA.

The first phase of the venture involves refurbishing an existing 1,300 km (800 mile) railway through Angola and extending it into the Democratic Republic of Congos mining heartland, to facilitate exports of copper and cobalt through the Atlantic coast.

A second phase currently under feasibility study would link Zambia - Africas second largest copper producer after the DRC - to Lobito.

Lobito Atlantic Railways CEO Francisco Franca, who was part of the tour, said DFC financing contracts were currently in the final