Notice. This article is informational and general in nature. Specific timelines, capacity, and performance metrics are subject to operational conditions, third-party interfaces, and official updates. Obtain independent legal and commercial advice for any contract, routing, or financing decision.
Lobito Atlantic Railway (LAR): A Westbound Corridor for the Copperbelt
For decades, the African Copperbelt has been a world-class production base with a logistics constraint. The strategic shift is not a new mine, it is a dependable route.
Lobito Atlantic Railway (LAR) is the operator behind that shift, connecting the Copperbelt to a deepwater Atlantic port at Lobito. The corridor is built for scale, designed for repeatability, and increasingly financed like a long-life infrastructure platform.
What LAR Is, In One Sentence
LAR is the freight rail operator running the Angolan section of the Benguela rail line and the dedicated mineral terminal at the Port of Lobito under a long-term concession, with a cross-border operating setup that reaches into the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) via track access arrangements.
Ownership And Operating Model
LAR is owned via a consortium structure that brings together three skill sets that matter for rail corridors: international commodity logistics, infrastructure delivery, and day-to-day rail operations.
Who Owns LAR
- Trafigura: global logistics and corridor demand profile.
- Mota-Engil: infrastructure modernisation and rehabilitation execution.
- Vecturis: rail operations and operating discipline built over decades in African rail logistics.
The shareholding sits under Lobito Atlantic Holdings (LAH), the consortium vehicle.
How It Is Run
- Concession term: 30 years for operation, management, maintenance, and modernisation responsibilities on the Angolan line and associated mineral port infrastructure.
- Passenger services: remain under the state rail company (CFB) via track access arrangements, while LAR focuses on freight execution and corridor performance.
- Cross-border: the DRC segment is operated under track access with the national railway operator (SNCC), supported by dedicated locomotives managed by LAR.
Corridor Facts And Numbers
The value of a corridor is measurable. These are the figures that define the current operating footprint and where it is heading.
| Metric | Current / Stated Position | Why It Matters |
|---|---|---|
| Route coverage | Kolwezi to Lobito is presented as a 1,739 km corridor. Angola section: 1,289 km from Lobito to Luau. DRC section: 450 km between Luau and Kolwezi via track access. | Defines the addressable catchment area for copper, cobalt, sulphur, reagents, and backhaul cargo. |
| Transit time | Headline rail transit is presented as ~7 days between the Port of Lobito and Kolwezi. | Shorter and more predictable cycles improve working capital and reduce exception risk. |
| Train cadence | 12 trains per week, with a stated plan to increase to 20 by 2027. | Frequency is the difference between a corridor and a one-off route. |
| Local operating base | 945 employees in Angola, with 97% local workforce stated by the operator. | Operational resilience depends on people, maintenance routines, and train discipline. |
| Capacity targets | Stated aim to ramp annual export capacity to 1 million tonnes per annum before the end of the decade, with early reserved-capacity commitments starting 2024 to 2025. | Signals corridor maturity and bankability, not just intent. |
| Capital program | USD 753 million announced financing package from DFC and DBSA for rehabilitation and upgrades to track, workshops, signalling, and rolling stock, linked to corridor expansion. | Long-term financing supports reliability, capacity expansion, and lower unit costs over time. |
Commercial Access And What “Open” Looks Like In Practice
The corridor has been positioned as open commercial access rather than a closed, captive line. In reality, corridors scale through a blend of open booking and anchor commitments. Early on, LAR has used reserved-capacity agreements to lock in predictable base volumes, then widen participation as cadence improves.
| Commercial Mechanism | How It Shows Up | Effect On The Market |
|---|---|---|
| Reserved capacity agreements | Long-term commitments signed for a minimum multi-year term, including stated allocations such as up to 450,000 tpa from 2025 for one anchor customer and 120,000 to 240,000 tpa for another from 2025. | Reduces demand uncertainty and supports investment in wagons, locomotives, and maintenance systems. |
| Two-way corridor economics | Exports of copper and cobalt westbound, imports such as sulphur and industrial inputs eastbound. | Backhaul reduces empty return legs and supports more competitive roundtrip economics. |
| Terminal integration | Dedicated mineral terminal at Lobito linked directly to the rail line, with port operations tied to rail flow. | Port-rail integration cuts handoff risk and improves cycle predictability. |
Milestones That Signal Execution
Corridors earn credibility through delivered events, not slide decks. LAR has published a sequence of milestones that show corridor function on both export and import legs.
- December 2023: first LAR-operated train arrival from the DRC carrying copper concentrate exported to China (operator-reported timeline).
- January 2024: assumption of operations previously managed by the Angolan state operator, marking operational takeover.
- July 2024: first import vessel discharged at the mineral terminal, including a reported 40,000 metric tons of sulphur for Copperbelt mines.
- August 2024: first full copper shipment from the DRC to the United States reported as departing Lobito on a container vessel bound for Baltimore.
- 2025: operator-reported ramp milestones including cumulative tonnage moved and new wagon additions for container transport.
The point is simple: both directions of the corridor have been exercised, which matters for sustained train cadence.
Expansion Plans: More Trains, More Capacity, Wider Network
LAR’s near-term scale plan is built around three levers: frequency, infrastructure condition, and network connectivity.
1) Frequency Ramp
LAR’s public targets include increasing from 12 trains per week to 20 by 2027. This is not cosmetic. Higher cadence allows better allocation, tighter booking windows, and fewer exceptions per shipment.
2) Rehabilitation And Modernisation
The announced USD 753 million financing package is tied to upgrades across track infrastructure, workshops, signalling systems, and rolling stock. This type of capex is about one thing: reliability at volume.
3) Corridor Integration Beyond Angola
The corridor narrative increasingly includes new rail build links designed to connect Zambia and additional DRC sections into the existing Angolan line. Public reporting has referenced construction programs of 515 km of rail in Zambia and 315 km in the DRC to connect into the 1,300 km Angolan rail backbone.
If those links are delivered as planned, the corridor becomes less of a single line and more of a regional routing system.
What The Corridor Enables For Metals Trade
Traders care about optionality and execution. Producers care about delivered costs and consistency. Banks care about predictability and controls. LAR is relevant because it changes all three at once.
- Route diversification: an Atlantic outlet reduces dependence on single-direction bottlenecks and congested routes.
- Cycle compression: faster and more stable transit can reduce inventory days and improve shipment-level working capital efficiency.
- Improved import flows: sulphur and industrial inputs can be moved more predictably to mines, stabilising production inputs.
- Bankability: long-term concession structure and corridor financing support longer planning horizons for counterparties.
- Regional trade uplift: beyond metals, the corridor is positioned to move agricultural and industrial cargo with the same operating discipline.
FAQ
Is this a private line for one trader?
No. The corridor has been positioned as commercially open. In practice, early anchor commitments help fund the capacity ramp, then the corridor widens access as frequency and reliability improve.
Does the corridor work only for exports?
No. Import flows are a core part of corridor economics, especially sulphur and mining inputs. Published milestones include large inbound parcels handled through the mineral terminal.
What is the biggest operational difference versus alternative routes?
Predictability. Ports, roads, and multi-border trucking chains introduce timing volatility. Rail corridors reduce handoffs and make cadence achievable, which is what large trading books need.
What should counterparties watch over the next 12 to 24 months?
Train frequency, sustained monthly tonnage, rolling stock additions, and how quickly the rehabilitation program translates into fewer service interruptions. Those four indicators tell you whether the corridor is moving from early ramp to durable platform.
If your desk trades Copperbelt metals and needs executable routing options into Asia, India, or the Atlantic, we can structure the commercial and documentary pathway around your target Incoterms, buyer requirements, and shipment cadence.
Request A QuoteDisclosure. This content is for informational purposes and does not constitute legal, tax, accounting, or financial advice. FG Capital Advisors is not a carrier, bank, or lender. Any support is provided on a best-efforts basis and remains subject to third-party approvals, diligence, and documentation.
