US remains in talks on $500m for Angola’s rail corridor
The US International Development Finance Corp. is still finalizing more than $500-million in financing for the Lobito corridor, a railway project that will haul critical minerals from central Africa’s copper belt to an Atlantic port in Angola.
The DFC is “actively negotiating” with stakeholders, including the Angolan government and Trafigura over the funding, Conor Coleman, head of investments at DFC, told reporters on the sidelines of the US-Africa Business Summit in Luanda on Monday. “We remain very committed to that project overall and we’re working tirelessly to make sure that project is effectuated.”
The DFC first said it is reviewing financing for the project in 2023. Coleman declined to comment on the reasons for the delay, adding that they are unrelated to any changes the Trump administration has planned for the DFC.
“There’s business as usual,” at the DFC, Coleman said. “You’ll see us playing a lot in critical minerals infrastructure, both digital and transportation, as well as energy, especially here on the African continent.”
The DFC has committed a $3.4-million technical assistance grant to Pensana’s rare-earths extraction and processing project in Angola and is in talks to finance Carrinho Group’s agricultural manufacturing plant through a senior secured-debt facility.
The Trump administration has shown a keen interest in Africa’s critical minerals as it seeks to challenge China’s dominance.
While the US lags China in the minerals race in Africa, it is “not too late,” Coleman said. China currently processes all the minerals it extracts from the continent in China, “and that’s not what any of the countries want,” he said.
There is room for the US and for the countries to diversify their customer base and think differently about beneficiation, Coleman said. “There’s opportunity in the lateness.”
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