The Democratic Republic of the Congo is advancing a major railway modernization project valued at $1.258 billion, marking another step in the government’s programme to strengthen national transport infrastructure and expand the country’s access to regional and international markets.

Angolan President João Lourenço travelled to Kinshasa on Wednesday to join President Félix Tshisekedi at a planned contract-signing ceremony connected to the development of the Lobito Corridor. The visit was officially confirmed by Angola’s Government Information Centre, which said the Angolan leader would witness the signing of a contract related to the strategic trade route.

The project covers the rehabilitation and modernization of the Dilolo–Sakania railway, a 1,004.5-kilometre line passing through major economic centres including Kolwezi and Lubumbashi. It connects the Angolan border at Dilolo with Sakania near Zambia, crossing the mineral-rich provinces of Lualaba and Haut-Katanga.

According to details reported by Actualite.cd, the proposed collaboration with Mota-Engil Africa covers project financing, rehabilitation of existing infrastructure, railway modernization, commercial operation and maintenance throughout the contractual period. The infrastructure would ultimately be transferred to the Congolese state under the approved framework.

A strategic railway for Congolese trade

The Dilolo–Sakania line forms the Congolese section of the Lobito Corridor, which links the mining and industrial regions of the DRC and Zambia to the Port of Lobito on Angola’s Atlantic coast.

Modernizing the railway is expected to strengthen the movement of minerals and other goods from the Grand Katanga region while giving Congolese exporters another major route to global markets. The project is also designed to reinforce regional logistics, improve the competitiveness of the railway network and support more efficient commercial exchanges between the DRC, Angola and Zambia.

The Congolese government previously approved the public-private partnership with Mota-Engil and subsequently adopted the project’s collaboration convention. The approved project documentation reported by Actualite.cd places the estimated investment at $1.258 billion and sets a target of progressively increasing railway capacity to as much as 13.7 million tonnes annually.

The project framework also highlights national employment, local participation, technology transfer and increased public revenue among the anticipated economic benefits.