Brussels, Oct. 9, 2025 (Lusa) - European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen on Thursday described the Lobito Corridor in Angola as a "strategic investment" for both the European Union (EU) and Africa, speaking of "much more than infrastructure".
"These are essential raw materials that are so vital to our strategic industries, not only for Europe's needs, but with local processing and added value, [which is why] the Lobito Corridor is a strategic investment for both Europe and our African partners," said Ursula von der Leyen.
In a speech in Brussels at the Global Gateway forum (the EU initiative launched four years ago to promote sustainable investment in developing countries), the head of the EU executive advocated the construction of "resilient value chains with local infrastructure, but also local jobs, local skills and local industries".
"The Lobito Corridor in Central Africa is already an example of how this works in practice," Ursula von der Leyen pointed out.
"This railtransport artery connects Angola's Atlantic coast to the mineral regions of Zambia and the Democratic Republic of Congo [DRC], reducing the journey from the centre of the continent to the port of Lobito from 45 days to just one week and, by removing 5,000 heavy lorries from congested roads, significantly reducing carbon emissions," she said.
For the President of the European Commission, "the Lobito Corridor is much more than infrastructure".
This is because "it is also mobilising more than €1 billion, not only for railways and roads, but also for agricultural value chains in Angola, the DRC and Zambia, for modern logistics centres that bring products to the market, and for vocational training to ensure that the local population benefits from new jobs," she added.
On Wednesday, the European Commission and the World Bank announced a strategic partnership to finance sustainable connectivity projects, including the Lobito Corridor in Angola, for which Brussels has already mobilised €500 million in grants.
This involves strengthening the strategic partnership between the EU executive and the international financial institution that provides loans to developing countries to boost connectivity projects.
According to the institution, 18 high-impact investments have been selected in three strategic sectors - energy, transport and digital infrastructure - in Africa, Asia and the Pacific, Latin America and the Caribbean, including the Lobito Corridor, according to the list accessed by the Lusa agency.
This is one of the main economic and logistical integration initiatives in Africa, connecting the port of Lobito in Angola to the mining regions of the Democratic Republic of Congo and Zambia via a strategic railway line.
This corridor aims to facilitate the transport of critical minerals, such as copper and cobalt, which are essential for the global energy transition, reducing costs and transport times, but in addition to the economic impact, it promotes local employment, sustainable infrastructure and regional cooperation.
European sources heard by Lusa explained that, to date, the EU's Team Europe initiative has already mobilised more than €500 million in grants for various projects in the three countries of the Lobito Corridor, Angola, Zambia and the Democratic Republic of Congo.
In her speech, Von der Leyen also mentioned, without specifying, the "modernisation of strategic ports in Cabo Verde".
Global Gateway is a European Union initiative launched in 2021 to strengthen global connections.
In its four years of implementation, the project has already mobilised €306 billion, and the EU expects to reach €400 billion by 2027.
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