USA INVESTMENT IN LOBITO CORRIDOR RAIL LINE IS POSITIVE GAME CHANGER – TAYALI
LUSAKA, Sunday 21st May 2023
GOVERNMENT is elated with the remarks by United States of America President Joe Biden at the Partnership for Global Infrastructure and Investment (PGII) Meeting being held at Grand Prince Hotel in Hiroshima, Japan.
The US President has announced that his country has already mobilized more than $30 billion in investments to date and it is just getting started.
Minister of Transport and Logistics Hon. MUSEBA FRANK TAYALI, MP has described the move by President Biden as real time game changer in the region and Zambia in particular.
Hon. TAYALI adds that the remarks resonate well with the New Dawn Administration’s desire of seeing Zambia unlock its vast business potential along the corridor through the participation of the private sector in creating jobs and economic growth.
The Minister says, the mere mention by the G7 at its annual meeting, clearly demonstrates the high level of importance and confidence the Group has shown in the member states of the Lobito Corridor.
He says the move brings a high sense of confidence to members states of the Lobito Corridor as this is a booster towards investment that will lead to positive impacts across multiple sectors in the region.
And President Biden says his country has already started working with its partners to make this happen adding that in Sub-Saharan Africa, the U.S. Development Finance Corporation is looking to invest in the first railway project on the continent.
He says the United States is supporting the development of the Lobito Corridor with an initial investment in a rail expansion that may become the primary open access transportation infrastructure connecting the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and Zambia with global markets through Angola.
President Biden adds that the PGII is actively pursuing additional opportunities to connect the initial Lobito Corridor investments across the continent, to Tanzania and, ultimately, the Indian Ocean.
“The rail line would extend from the western shores of Angola to the border of the DRC and Zambia, with the goal of ultimately reaching the Indian Ocean, connecting the continent east to west for the first time,” he says.
He says the project would not only quickly promote trade and create jobs but that it will strengthen supply chains, and incentivize investments in agriculture, and promote food security.
And also, that it is going to enable access to clean energy and digital connectivity across the entire region, creating more security, more prosperity, more opportunities for generations to come.
President Biden says that is what his country’s focus on the key economic corridors is all about, investing in near-term solutions that pay long-term dividends.
According to initial investments, under rail Consortium: The U.S. International Development Finance Corporation (DFC) is currently performing due diligence for a potential financing package of $250 million to finance the Lobito Atlantic Railway Corridor – an open access rail line from Lobito Port in Angola to the DRC border.
This deal would be the DFC’s first investment in rail on the continent. This project is the first step to connect and develop trading and economic activity from Angola to the DRC, that can help promote greater investments in agriculture, digital infrastructure, and expanded access to electricity.
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NDUBI R. MVULA PUBLIC RELATIONS OFFICER