Zambia is at the epicentre of a burgeoning infrastructural showdown as two major railway projects spearheaded by the United States and China vie for dominance in the region’s mineral-rich land.
The United States has thrown its weight behind the Lobito Corridor initiative, committing a substantial $2.3 billion investment. This funding aims not only to revamp an existing railway stretching from the Democratic Republic of Congo to the Lobito port on the Atlantic but also to extend the network by an additional 800 kilometres into Zambian territory.
However, construction on the Zambian leg of the railway may need to be completed on time, contingent upon securing necessary funding from various sources, with a tentative commencement date set for 2026. Meanwhile, China has swiftly escalated its efforts by pledging over $1 billion to revitalize the historic Tazara railway, vital for facilitating the export of the region’s copper and cobalt through Tanzania’s Dar es Salaam port.
Both initiatives signify a strategic endeavour to establish more efficient export routes for Zambia and Congo’s mineral wealth seeing to the region’s economic and infrastructural advancement. The Lobito Atlantic Railway, spanning 2,600 kilometres and connecting Congo and Zambia to Angola’s coast, is a testament to this ambition.
Shortly after dispatching engineers to assess the condition of the railway constructed in the 1970s under Mao Zedong’s regime, the Chinese government presented Zambia with its proposal for rejuvenating the Tazara railway. Under this proposal, a state-owned Chinese enterprise will oversee the project under a commercial concession, with financing primarily sourced from Chinese financial institutions.
The competition extends beyond railway development, as both the United States and China vie to assist Zambia in establishing battery manufacturing sectors, indicative of the broader geopolitical contest unfolding in the region.
