US-backed Lobito deal between DRC and Angola targets week-long copper transit

The Democratic Republic of Congo and Angola signed a new agreement on 28 August 2026 aimed at streamlining mineral transport along the US-backed Lobito Corridor, with officials targeting a reduction in transit times for copper and cobalt shipments from roughly 30 days currently to a week or less once the corridor is fully optimised. The deal reinforces the corridor's role as the primary Atlantic route for minerals from the DRC's copperbelt and Zambia.

The agreement comes with continued backing from Washington, which has committed up to $1 billion toward Lobito Corridor infrastructure as part of a broader strategy to compete with Chinese-linked mining and logistics interests in central Africa. US officials have pointed to estimates that Chinese enterprises control roughly 72% of copper and cobalt mining operations in the DRC as part of the rationale for continued American investment in an alternative export route.

Geopolitics layered on logistics

The Lobito Corridor has become as much a geopolitical project as a commercial one, with the United States and European Union financing rail rehabilitation and port upgrades partly to offer African mineral producers an alternative to Chinese-financed routes such as the revamped TAZARA railway to Tanzania. For the DRC and Angola, the practical benefit is more straightforward: faster, cheaper transit for copper and cobalt exports means better prices realised at the mine gate and less capital tied up in goods in transit.

Ambition ahead of delivery

Reaching week-long transit times would require the kind of frequent, reliable train service and streamlined border and customs processing that the corridor has not yet consistently delivered — as shown by the two-month disruption caused by April 2026 flooding on the Angolan side of the line. The new agreement signals continued political commitment from both governments and Washington, but, like other corridor announcements before it, its ultimate value will be judged by whether transit times actually fall as promised rather than by the signing ceremony itself.

Sources

• Semafor: DR Congo and Angola sign new Lobito deal, 28 Aug 2026

Photo: The Port of Lobito in Angola, the Atlantic terminus of the US-backed Lobito Corridor. David Stanley from Nanaimo, Canada, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.0.