Geographically blessed with mineral-rich neighbours to the east and the Atlantic to the west, Angola occupies a pivotal role, providing a vital transport and energy corridor that connects central and southern Africa to global markets while fostering regional trade, industrial development, and economic influence. Angola is positioning itself as a middle power that is strategically non-aligned, appealing to both Chinese and American investment.
A vital component of this strategy is the Lobito Corridor, an economic corridor that extends from the Atlantic port city of Lobito through central Angola and eastward into the Democratic Republic of the Congo’s mining region, ultimately linking to Zambia’s Copperbelt. The backbone of this multilateral infrastructure and economic initiative is the Benguela railway. Completed in 1931, the railway includes 1,289 km of track in Angola and an additional 450 km in the DRC. The line was heavily damaged during Angola’s 27-year civil war and was rebuilt between 2006 and 2014 through a $2 billion Chinese loan, in which Angola supplied oil in exchange for Chinese-built development projects. José Eduardo dos Santos, Angola’s president from 1979-2017, presided over one of Africa’s most corrupt regimes, using Angola’s vast oil wealth to enrich a small elite while state institutions were hollowed out by patronage and embezzlement, a legacy that continues to shape the governance and economic challenges surrounding projects like the Lobito Corridor.
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