• EU grants €50M to upgrade Zambia's Livingstone-Ndola railway
  
  
• Project supports Lobito Corridor, key copper export route to Angola
  
  
• China, EU, and U.S. compete for regional infrastructure, mineral access
  

The European Union and Zambia signed a 50 million-euro funding agreement this week to upgrade the Livingstone-Ndola railway. The deal strengthens Zambia’s position in the race to develop key logistics corridors in Southern and Eastern Africa. 

The financing will modernize key sections operated by Zambia Railways and overhaul signalling systems. It adds to existing European and US support for the Lobito Corridor, which is viewed as one of the most competitive mineral transport routes on the continent.

The Lobito rail project aims to provide a faster route for exporting copper and cobalt from Zambia and the Democratic Republic of Congo through Angola’s Atlantic coast. Many analysts see the initiative as a Western counter to China’s growing influence over regional infrastructure.

China deepened its longstanding presence in the region last September when it approved 1.4 billion dollars to modernize the TAZARA railway, which links Zambia to the Tanzanian port of Dar es Salaam. The TAZARA upgrade, one of the largest China-Africa cooperation projects, is expected to restore the corridor’s role as a major export route to the Indian Ocean.

At the same time, Zambia is considering a third option with a planned rail corridor involving Zambia, Zimbabwe and Mozambique. The initiative aims to improve access to the Mozambican ports of Beira and Maputo, reflecting Lusaka’s effort to diversify its logistics routes.

Analysts say the growing wave of investment reflects a geopolitical and economic race among major powers seeking secure access to copper and other critical minerals that are abundant across the region. Zambia itself aims to raise national copper output to 3 million tonnes a year by 2031, underscoring its increasing importance in global mineral supply chains.

Henoc Dossa