DR Congo grants Mota-Engil a 30-year concession for the Lobito Corridor railway

en.Wedoany.com Reported - The Government of the Democratic Republic of Congo has signed a railway concession contract with Mota-Engil Africa for the Dilolo–Sakania line, with a concession period of 30 years. The DRC Presidency has confirmed that the line spans 1,004.5 km, connecting Dilolo on the Angolan border to Sakania near the Zambian border, passing through Kolwezi, Tenke, and Lubumbashi, and linking into the Angolan rail network to the Port of Lobito. The scope of work includes rehabilitation, modernization, expansion, operation, and maintenance of the line, with the officially announced indicative investment scale at approximately US$1.258 billion.

Under the concession arrangement, project financing and risks related to rail freight volumes are borne by the concessionaire, with the DRC government providing no sovereign guarantees, operating subsidies, or minimum revenue guarantees. The DRC will hold at least a 10% equity stake in the project company and will receive a 7.5% royalty fee based on the project company's annual gross operating revenue. Upon the conclusion of the 30-year operating period, the relevant railway infrastructure will be transferred to the DRC government in accordance with the contractual terms.

The DRC national railway company SNCC will retain its exclusive right to operate passenger rail services while continuing to hold freight rights. The concession railway will also be open to other eligible railway operators on transparent, fair, and non-discriminatory principles; therefore, this contract does not grant Mota-Engil exclusive rights over all transport operations on the Dilolo–Sakania line.

The Dilolo–Sakania line connects the major mining regions of Lualaba and Haut-Katanga in the DRC. The existing Lobito Atlantic Railway already connects Kolwezi in the DRC to the Port of Lobito in Angola, with the Angolan section spanning approximately 1,289 km, operated by Lobito Atlantic Railway under a 30-year concession granted by the Angolan government; the line currently extends from the Port of Lobito through Benguela, Huambo, Kuito, Luena, and Luau to the DRC border.

The DRC government had previously designated the Dilolo–Sakania axis as a priority railway infrastructure project within the Lobito Corridor. A government document from April 2026 explicitly stated that the line requires rehabilitation and called for accelerated implementation of the Lobito Corridor project. Following the signing of this concession contract, the line has advanced from the earlier phase of government planning and financing to a long-term concession and project implementation framework.