Lobito Corridor Accelerates with Financial Close on $753M for Upgrading Angolan Segment
On 3 July 2026, the Africa Finance Corporation (AFC) headquarters in Lagos issued a statement confirming the financial close on the package worth USD 753 million for the Lobito Corridor. This communiqué follows the signing in Washington. DC, in December 2025, involving the US Development Finance Corporation (DFC), Development Bank of South Africa (DBSA), Trafigura, and Mota-Engil, with the blessing of the Government of Angola. The funds will go toward upgrading the 1,300-kilometer Angolan segment of the #LobitoCorridor from Lobito on the Atlantic Coast to Luau near the border with the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).
The Africa Finance Corporation (AFC) and Eaglestone acted as the co-advisors on the transaction. The US International Development Finance Corporation (DFC) is putting up USD 553 million, while the Development Bank of Southern Africa (DBSA) is coming up with USD 200 million.
“The financial close of the Lobito Corridor underscores the AFC’s leadership in delivering complex transformational infrastructure that advances Africa’s industrialization and regional integration. As one of the continent’s most strategic transport corridors, the project will strengthen regional connectivity, facilitate trade, and unlock new opportunities for economic growth across Angola and the wider region.”
AFC CEO Samaila Zubairu
| Date | Project | Org | Amt USD M |
|---|---|---|---|
| July 2026 | Angola Segment Upgrade | Total | 753 |
| DFC | 553 | ||
| DBSA | 200 | ||
| April 2026 | New Zambia Segment | Total | 1320 |
| AFC | 500 | ||
| AfDB | 500 | ||
| CDP | 320 | ||
| July 2023 | Lobito Atlantic Railway JV | Total | 450 |
| Trafigura | 225 | ||
| Mota-Engil | 225 |
“Reaching financial close on the Lobito Corridor is the culmination of years of work and a defining moment for infrastructure finance in Sub-Saharan Africa. This transaction demonstrates that complex, multi-lender, cross-border project financings can be structured and successfully closed on the continent, and we are proud to have been at the center of it alongside AFC. We thank LAR, Mota-Engil and Trafigura for their trust in Eaglestone and for the commitment they each brought to making this transaction a reality.”
Founding Partner at Eaglestone Nuno Gil
Previously, AFC acted as the main deal arranger to structure the deal, thanks to its previous involvement in providing the initial capital of USD 500 million to extend the 830-kilometer greenfield rail extension of the Lobito Corridor into Zambia’s #Copperbelt, initiated in late 2024.
At the time, the African Development Bank matched AFC’s pledge with another USD 500 million. Italy’s DFC, Cassa Depositi e Prestiti (CDP), added USD 320 million. The Lobito Corridor is generally perceived as a Western initiative competing against the China-centric Tanzania-Zambia Railway (#TAZARA), despite some attempts to link the two.