Luanda, May 5, 2026 (Lusa) - The Lobito Corridor has identified around 100 potential projects, including 21 in the agricultural sector, with a total investment estimated at $6 billion, according to preliminary studies.
The figures were released by Avelino Chimbulo, Director of Innovation and Strategic Planning at the Regulatory Agency for Cargo Certification and Logistics of Angola (ARCCLA), who, on Tuesday, presented at the Angola-European Union Business Forum on the Lobito Corridor, the Lobito Corridor Master Plan, a guiding instrument, developed in phases, which aims to define the Corridor’s economic development strategy, the governance model and the role of the private sector.
Speaking to Lusa, Chimbulo said that over 100 opportunities had been identified in critical sectors, notably agriculture and agribusiness, transport and logistics infrastructure, tourism, industry and manufacturing.
He said that while some initiatives are still maturing and require further leverage, others are already operational, such as the avocado cluster, which is exporting to the Netherlands.
The investments were estimated at around $6 billion (approximately €5.1 billion) in a preliminary study by the IFC (International Finance Corporation), the World Bank’s private investment arm, which served as the basis for the ongoing planning work.
The Lobito Corridor Master Plan is being developed in three phases. The first two, preparation and data collection, have been completed, and the third phase, currently underway, involves detailed thematic studies and will culminate in an investment plan with infrastructure projects by province, including short-, medium- and long-term initiatives.
“This will help us define investment needs. In the third phase, we will have a concrete roadmap, with short-, medium- and long-term initiatives, the necessary investment levels and structural projects at the provincial level along the Corridor,” he said.
The Lobito Corridor is a 1,300-kilometre-long railway line that crosses five Angolan provinces (Benguela, Huambo, Bié, Moxico and Moxico Leste), and extends to the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRCongo) and, in future, to Zambia, linking the port of Lobito on the Atlantic to the Copperbelt mining region.
Additionally, the Katanga region in the DRCongo, the source of cobalt, copper, nickel, and lithium exports to the international market, accounts for approximately 80% of the Corridor’s market potential.
The Lobito Corridor Master Plan has identified 22 specific opportunities in agriculture, forestry, fisheries and agro-industry, the sector with the most projects identified, including processing hubs for cereals, fruit and horticulture, coffee and honey clusters, aquaculture and cold chain centres.
In logistics and transport, seven opportunities have been identified, including a logistics hub in Bié and a cross-border market in Luau, in Moxico.
The future governance mechanism for the Corridor will be the Lobito Corridor Development Company, a state-owned company established in January 2026 to manage, coordinate, supervise, and promote the Corridor’s economic development activities, attracting strategic investment in the agriculture, industry, tourism and services sectors.
The Lobito Corridor concession is operated by the Lobito Atlantic Railway, which in 2023 was awarded a 30-year concession and comprises three European companies: Mota-Engil, Trafigura and Vecturis.
RCR/MYAL // ADB.
Lusa
