AFC selects European-Turkish consortium to build new Zambia segment of Lobito Corridor
The Africa Finance Corporation announced that a consortium of Webuild, Mota-Engil and İçtaş will construct a 515-km railway in Zambia for the US-backed Lobito Corridor.
The Africa Finance Corporation has chosen a consortium of Webuild, Mota-Engil and İçtaş to construct a 515-kilometre railway line in Zambia, advancing the US-supported Lobito Corridor that aims to move critical minerals to Angola’s coast. For the Angolan portion, Mota-Engil—partly owned by China Communications Construction Company—and Brazil’s Odebrecht Engineering and Construction were selected. AFC said contract talks will start next month and are expected to run for eight to twelve weeks.
An environmental assessment puts the corridor’s construction cost at up to $5 billion, though AFC’s chief Samaila Zubairu declined to confirm a figure during negotiations. The project is promoted as a Western alternative to China’s Belt and Road, intended to spur industrialisation in Angola, Zambia and the Democratic Republic of Congo, and may include a power-line component to export Angola’s stranded hydroelectric capacity.
Why it matters
The railway will create a new export route for African minerals, reducing reliance on Chinese infrastructure and boosting regional industrialisation.
How the sides frame it
HIGH AGREEMENTBoth camps report the same contractor selections and project cost, but left-leaning coverage highlights the railway as a Western counter-to-China initiative, while centrist coverage focuses on the contractual and financial details.
LEFT
Frames the project as a US-backed, Western alternative to China’s Belt and Road aimed at spurring industrialisation in the region.
CENTER
Presents the story as a factual report of preferred contractors and the estimated $5 billion cost of the railway.
The left emphasises
- US-supported Lobito Corridor
- Western alternative to China’s Belt and Road
- intended to spur industrialisation in Angola, Zambia and
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