DRC: Mota-Engil secures a 30-year concession to modernize the Lobito Corridor railway

The Democratic Republic of Congo has signed a 30-year concession contract with Mota-Engil Africa for the modernization, rehabilitation, and operation of the Dilolo-Sakania railway line. The planned investment amounts to approximately $1.8 billion over the concession period.

The Democratic Republic of Congo has taken another step in developing its rail connection to the Lobito Corridor. The Congolese government and Mota-Engil Africa signed a 30-year concession contract on August 26 in Kinshasa for the Dilolo-Sakania railway section in the southeast of the country. The agreement was concluded in the presence of Presidents Félix Tshisekedi and João Lourenço, respectively the heads of state of the DRC and Angola. (ACP)

The line connects Dilolo, on the border with Angola, to Sakania, on the Zambian border. It notably crosses the main mining and industrial centers of Kolwezi, Tenke, and Lubumbashi, in the Lualaba and Haut-Katanga provinces. It thus constitutes the Congolese extension of the railway line linking the mining areas of the DRC to the Atlantic port of Lobito, Angola. (FinancialFilings)

An investment of USD 1.8 billion

According to Mota-Engil, the total investment expected over the contract period amounts to approximately USD 1.8 billion. The program notably covers the modernization, rehabilitation, and construction of new railway infrastructure. The company plans to concentrate the majority of this work during the first seven years of the concession. (Investing.com)

This amount differs from the USD 1.258 billion estimate presented by the Congolese government when the project was approved in July. This initial funding envelope concerned the Dilolo-Sakania line modernization project, while Mota-Engil now indicates an investment of approximately USD 1.8 billion over the concession period. (Actualite.cd)

The concession covers a section of approximately 1,037 km according to Mota-Engil, compared to 1,004.5 km in government documents prior to the signing. (FinancialFilings)

Up to 13.7 million tons of capacity

The modernization is intended to gradually increase the rail transport capacity of this line to approximately 13.7 million tons per year. The objective is, in particular, to facilitate the transport of minerals produced in southeastern DRC to international markets via the port of Lobito. (Actualite.cd)

For Kinshasa, the project should also strengthen regional logistics integration, improve the competitiveness of rail transport, and promote technology transfer, local content, and job creation. (Actualite.cd)

A Strategic Extension of the Lobito Corridor

The new concession complements the existing infrastructure in Angola. In Angola, the Lobito Atlantic Railway consortium, comprising Mota-Engil, Trafigura, and Vecturis, operates the rail link between the port of Lobito and Luau, near the Congolese border. Funding of USD 753 million has been secured to rehabilitate and reinforce this nearly 1,300 km section. (lobitoatlantic.com)

The extension into the DRC will therefore create rail continuity between the mining areas of the Congolese Copperbelt, the Angolan border, and the port of Lobito. For copper and cobalt exporters, this route offers a strategic alternative to the eastern corridors and should help diversify access routes to international markets.

Beyond mining transport, the modernization of Dilolo-Sakania could strengthen trade between the DRC, Angola and Zambia, while consolidating the Lobito Corridor as one of the main logistics axes linking Central Africa to global markets.