MIGA Backs Angola's Lobito railway corridor modernisation

The Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency (MIGA), part of the World Bank Group Guarantee Platform, has issued guarantees backing the modernisation of Angola's Lobito railway corridor, a move set to generate employment while strengthening the country's trade and logistics capacity for critical minerals vital to the energy transition

MIGA has provided US$62.6mn in guarantees to Portuguese construction firm Mota-Engil, covering its equity investments in Lobito Atlantic Railway, which manages the Lobito Corridor under a 30-year concession granted by the Angolan government. The company oversees the operation, upkeep, and long-term upgrading of roughly 1,300 kilometres of railway running from the Port of Lobito on Angola's Atlantic coast to Luau at the border with the Democratic Republic of Congo, along with a mineral terminal at the port.

The corridor provides one of the shortest and most cost-effective paths connecting the DRC's copper- and cobalt-rich Copperbelt to global export markets, cutting transit times well below those of existing road routes. Both copper and cobalt are critical to clean energy technologies such as EV batteries and energy storage systems, and demand for these minerals is projected to rise sharply in the decades ahead.

At full capacity, the project is expected to create more than 1,600 direct jobs, with Angolan nationals making up 97% of the workforce. The corridor currently employs around 945 workers, including 529 who transferred from state-owned rail and port operators — a shift that is helping build local skills across the route.

"The Lobito Corridor will play an essential role in creating jobs, strengthening trade, and supporting the global energy transition," said Tsutomu Yamamoto, managing director at MIGA.

"We are proud to support Mota-Engil and Lobito Atlantic Railway in this landmark project, which will bolster the country's trade and logistics infrastructure and boost Angola's economic competitiveness, while creating jobs for Angolans."

"The partnership with MIGA strengthens the conditions required to deliver an investment of this scale and reflects international confidence in the project and in the execution capabilities of its partners," said Manuel Mota, Vice-CEO of the Mota-Engil Group.

"For Mota-Engil, its participation in the Lobito Corridor represents the continuation of an 80-year commitment to Angola and the conviction that strategic projects must be built on strong partnerships, a long-term vision and the creation of sustainable value for the country and the wider region."

Through its political risk insurance, MIGA will shield Mota-Engil's equity stake in Lobito Atlantic Railway from risks including expropriation, war and civil unrest, and breach of contract.