Lourenco Undertakes Fruitful One-Day Working Visit to DR Congo
On 26 August 2026, Angolan President Joao Lourenco undertook a one-day working visit to the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) to strengthen cooperation between the two neighboring countries. The highlight of the visit was the signing of the concession agreement in favor of Mota-Engil to modernize the Congolese segment of the #LobitoCorridor, from Dilolo to Sakania. The signature was closely witnessed by both Angola’s President Joao Lourenco and DRC’s President Felix Tshisekedi.
Mota-Engil estimates that the upgrade will require an initial investment of USD 1.3 billion. In return, Mota-Engil will enjoy a 30-year concession to operate the railway line. Under the Public-Priave Partnership (PPP), the Government of DRC maintains a 10% equity stake in the venture and will receive an additional 7.5% annual royalty on the gross revenue.
Based on the Build-Operate-Transfer (BOT) model, the DRC Government did not have to provide any sovereign guarantee, operating subsidies, or minimum-revenue guarantee to Mota-Engil. Moreover, DRC’s national railway company (SNCC) retains rights for passenger transport and will share freight volume with Mota-Engil on the Dilolo-Sakania line.
The railway segment starts at Dilolo on the Angoloa-DRC border and ends at Sakania on the DRC-Zambia border. The total distance is slightly over 1,000 kilometers. The key feature of the railway line is that its alignment traverses and serves the mining towns of Kolwezi, Tenke and Lubumbashi, right inside the #Copperbelt.
Once operational, the upgraded railway would shorten travel time from Kolwezi to the Lobito Port to only two to three days. Comparatively, it takes some 25 days to move #copper by truck from Kolwezi to Durban. In terms of cost, transport will also be reduced significantly, not to mention the reduced wear and tear on roads due to the heavy axle loads.
Going with the cooperation momentum, Lourenco pressed Tshisekedi to jointly develop oil exploration based on an MoU between the two countries signed about twenty years ago. As Angola has surplus electricity, Lourenco proposed exporting its electricity to the DR Congo and the region via the Central Africa Power Pool (#CAPP).