The US does not give up the Lobito corridor. They want to increase revenues in the region

The United States Ambassador in Angola James Stroy ensures that despite the budget cuts of President Donald Trump's administration, his country will implement a railway corridor from the Atlantic coast deep into Africa. The diplomat talked about this subject with representatives of European countries and the Angola authorities.

During the tour of places related to the investment called the Lobito Corridor, the American ambassador to Angola James Stroy emphasized that all projects are in progress. At the same time he denied USA They were to give up this investment.

In the opinion of the head of the European Union representative office in Angola, Rosaria Bento, whom Reuters quotes, next to the USA in the implementation of the Lobito corridor, the governments of several Western countries are also involved. In his opinion, Washington is already benefiting from this investment.

Washington announced that help has the form of federal and direct loans with a lower interest rate than Chinese. The US has accused Beijing several times to conduct “greedy policy”, which led to the paralysis of the budgets of many African countries. It is estimated that Angola's debt towards China It is already over $ 42 billion and is the highest when it comes to all African countries.

In the ratings of many experts, China largely control the extraction of the so -called Critical raw materials in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRK). The basis of these opinions is, among others, the fact that Chinese mining companies are owners or have significant shares in most plants dealing with the extraction of cobalt in the Democratic Republic of Congo, which in 2023 satisfied 76 percent of the world supply of this metal. In 2020, the last large mining company belonging to the US withdrew from DRK.

The USA is working on the construction of the Lobito corridor

The Lobito corridor is to connect the city bearing this name in Angola over the Atlantic with the Mineral Mineral Borderland of DRK and Zambia, about 2,000 kilometers away. In 2019, during the first presidential term of Trump, the US granted Angola authorities a loan for this purpose in the amount of $ 550 million.

The first phase of the investment is a renovation of the existing railway line through Angola and its extension to the Katanga region, in the south of DRK. Ultimately, the line is to be led to the city of Ndola in northern Zambia, and in further plans it is not excluded to extend it to Tanzaniato the Coast of the Indian Ocean.

In 2022, Angola donated a 30-year license for the implementation of the Lobito corridor. It was received by the Lobito Atlantic Railway consortium – joint -venure, whose main entities are registered in Singapore A company dealing in metal trade – Trafigura, Portuguese tycoon in the MOTA -Engil construction industry and Belgian railway operator Vecturis SA.

According to the US authorities, the Lobito corridor will allow them to increase influence in the region. In the opinions of many commentators about the importance of investments for the US authorities, it clearly demonstrates that the former president Joe Biden In his last foreign trip he visited Angola in January. It was also the first official journey of the US leader in history to this country.