A billion-dollar U.S.-backed railway project in Africa, vital for transporting critical minerals to global markets, is facing delays due to the Trump administration’s sweeping freeze on foreign aid.
The Lobito Corridor, a project linking the Central African copperbelt to Angola’s coast, risks stalling just as demand for minerals like copper and cobalt—so essential to modern technology—continues to soar.
The Lobito Corridor railway, stretching across Zambia, the Democratic Republic of Congo, and Angola, was designed to ferry minerals from one of the world’s richest mining regions to western markets.
Supported by loans and services from the U.S. International Development Finance Corporation (DFC) and co-funded by the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), the project has been hailed as the largest U.S. strategic critical-minerals endeavor in Africa.
Yet, with USAID funding now on hold as part of a Trump’s foreign aid review, progress is grinding to a halt.
Sources familiar with the situation say the freeze, enacted shortly after President Trump’s inauguration, is disrupting not just the Lobito project but a range of mining and energy initiatives across the continent.
The pause threatens to delay construction timelines and could jeopardize contracts with U.S. firms involved in the corridor’s development.
While the administration has framed the freeze as a cost-cutting measure, it’s raising concerns about unintended consequences—namely, creating an opening for rivals like China, which has long pursued dominance in Africa’s mineral wealth.
The Central African copperbelt is a global hotspot for minerals critical to batteries, renewable energy tech, and electronics.
The Lobito Corridor promised a faster, more efficient route to export these resources, reducing reliance on congested or foreign-controlled pathways.
For the U.S., it was also a geopolitical play—a way to counter China’s Belt and Road Initiative and secure a foothold in a region rich with strategic assets.
Now, with funding in limbo, analysts warn that Beijing could swoop in, offering its own financing to fill the gap.
Local stakeholders are feeling the pinch. Mining companies in the copperbelt, already navigating volatile markets, face uncertainty over when—or if—U.S. support will resume.
Angolan officials, who’ve pinned economic hopes on the corridor, have yet to comment publicly, but the mood is one of cautious frustration, according to Bloomberg.
The Trump administration has not detailed how long the aid freeze will last or whether exceptions might be carved out for projects like Lobito. For now, the corridor’s fate hangs in the balance, a high-stakes test of America’s commitment to Africa’s resource future—and its ability to compete on a continent where others are ready to step up.
