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When a naval officer Frank Garcia nominated by the United States Senate to be assistant secretary of state for Africa this week, he praised the administration of Donald Trump for ensuring that Washington engages in “trade and investment for the benefit” of Africa.
In particular, Garcia presented the Lobito Corridor – an excellent 1,300km (810-mile) rail and road link connecting the Atlantic port of Lobito in Angola to the richest regions of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and Zambia – as an example of the new guidelines during his approval before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee on March 5.
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Although it was the former administration of Biden who signed the memorandum of agreement to provide funds in the project, Trump collected funds in 2025. Garcia described the project as an example of a new way forward in Africa, based on what he said is the most important of the US and is consistent with the “America First” approach.
The former naval officer, whose new position is one of the most important positions in Washington in Africa, emphasized that job creation, regional integration and the development of trade relations will be important, not humanitarian aid, which should be evaluated based on its contribution to national security and the economy.
For some, the Lobito Corridor is an example of how US investment can boost regional trade in Africa, create jobs, and improve infrastructure while providing access to income. But critics say it greatly supports US efforts to find alternative sources of minerals needed for electric vehicles, clean energy technologies and defense, and furthers instability and conflict.
“There is a real danger that the corridor will exacerbate problems (in African countries with conflicts), instead of providing solutions,” Mike Jennings, professor of international development at SOAS University of London, told Al Jazeera.
“And its establishment feels neocolonial in practice, spirit and purpose.”
What is the Lobito Corridor?
The Lobito Corridor connects the mineral-rich Copperbelt to the Atlantic Ocean through Angola’s Lobito Port, amid growing demand for minerals vital to the world’s energy supply system.
Its foundation, the Benguela Railway, was first created in 1902 as a colonial trade route to transport black stone from Africa to international markets in Europe and America.
Angola, the province of Portugal where the first railway was completed in 1931, was granted a 99-year concession by the British mining and railway company Tanganyika Concessions, a major business that operated in colonial Africa for many years of the 20th century.
That ended in 2001, and the building was returned from the Portuguese authorities to the government of Angola, which by this time had gained independence in 1975. But when the 27-year civil war ended the following year, less than 3 percent of the railway remained in operation.
The railway was later redeveloped by China as part of a $2bn oil railway program, and in 2023, the Lobito Atlantic Railway company received a 30-year concession involving Trafigura, Mota-Engil, and Vecturis SA.
The US government committed billions of dollars to the project to improve Lobito’s infrastructure and reduce the cost of operating the critical mine. In 2022, the US – led by former President Joe Biden – the European Union and other members of the G7 signed a memorandum pledging to collect $600bn in infrastructure development over five years, while the US committed $200bn.
Why is the Lobito Corridor important?
The project is one of the five major trade, transit and development routes in Southern Africa. Its aim is to improve the efficiency of transport in the region, reducing the time and cost of transporting goods to coastal ports.
Corridors have been raised to lead the transportation of copper, cobalt and other important minerals, including lithium and nickel, quickly from Central Africa to markets around the world, putting it at the center of growing geopolitical competition for the economy needed to make electric cars and clean energy technologies.
There, supporters appreciate the creation of economic opportunities for people living along the corridor, including farmers, artisans and small-scale miners who hope to export their products. It also seems to have the potential to drive new ways of working between governments, development partners and companies, looking at integrated supply chains.
Jennings, of SOAS University in London, said weak transport links between African countries had contributed to weak integration and economic relations in the region. “Making this is very important for the development of infrastructure that can – if done correctly – support the economic growth and transformation of Africa,” he said.
“However, the big question is whether the Lobito Corridor will actually do this as it is being designed.”
What is Washington’s approach to this task?
Shortly before entering office, in December 2024, Mr. Biden made his own the first bilateral visit to Africa as president, he is visiting Angola on the other hand to discuss the support of the Lobito Corridor.
When China overtook the US in 2013 to become Africa’s largest trading partner, the visit was seen as an attempt to counter Beijing’s influence on the continent.
Despite the large commitment of the Lobito Corridor to build on the foundation managed by Biden, Mr. Trump did not want to abandon the project. Instead, he lost the reputation of his predecessor and expanded control over important mineral resources such as US national resources.
Under Biden, the Lobito Corridor was developed as a major climate change project in line with the EU Global Gateway initiative. The strategy has also been described by the Trump administration as a tool to counter China’s hegemony, strengthen US control over key products and integrate various supply chains.
The International Development Finance Corporation (DFC), which was established during Trump’s first term in 2019, pledged a loan of $550m to support the project. In December, DFC signed a $753m investment, described by its CEO Ben Black as notable for its “unprecedented scale and importance”.
“We see the railroad as an important domestic and regional asset that will drive economic development and facilitate the movement of essential metals to international markets,” said Black. The company’s statement added that DFC’s investment “helps maintain reliable supply chains and prevent the introduction of China and other competitors”.
What are the concerns about the Lobito Corridor?
Jennings said the initiative seems to be aimed at supporting trade from sub-Saharan Africa, rather than promoting trade and links between regions. “So it feels more like a continuation of the use of African natural resources than a new project related to Africa,” he said.
“What is built around mineral extraction in a country that has been ravaged by conflict and instability for decades, where access to natural resources has led to conflict and conflict, is also very concerning,” Jennings said.
“And on top of that is how it seems to be used, regardless of people who will be transferredstakeholders are affected, and their opinions and needs are not taken into account.”
According to a study by the Global Witness group from the United Kingdom, about 6,500 people may be affected by displacement due to the development of the Lobito Corridor in the DRC.
The team’s research found that the railway passes through vulnerable areas where ownership of houses and buildings along the railway line was disputed, as was the size of the land to be cleared. Global Witness said the Lobito Corridor will be a “litmus test” for Western partners who say the project represents a similar model of economic exploitation.
The October 2024 document of the United Nations policy on the effects of the Lobito Corridor region also highlighted the potential problems in the future, including environmental effects, land and community conflicts, as well as health, gender and human rights risks.
It also urged the three African governments and other stakeholders to put in place measures to deal with “problems and abuses of human rights, including any harm related to cross-border business caused by the Lobito Corridor”.
Although infrastructure projects are needed, Mr. Jennings confirmed that the Lobito Corridor “does not feel like the answer to these needs… it is looking outside – especially, not only, the interests of the US – strategic and economic, and not about the communities and people who will be most affected by its work.”
