On his final day in Angola, President Joe Biden pledged another $600 million for the Lobito Corridor railway project, bringing total US investment in the program to $4 billion. The initiative, part of a broader $6 billion partnership involving the EU, G7, and African banks, aims to refurbish 2,000 kilometers of railway connecting Angola to Congo and Zambia’s mineral-rich regions. This strategic move, which aims to counter China’s influence on the continent, seeks to enhance US access to critical minerals like cobalt and copper for clean energy technologies. China is a major player in the mining industries of Congo, which has over 70% of the world’s cobalt, and Zambia. Biden emphasized the corridor’s potential to transform logistics, stating that improved rail and shipping efficiency could reduce mineral export times from Africa to the US from 45 days to 45 hours.
SOURCE: AP NEWS
