The Lobito Corridor, a 1,300km stretch of railway from Kapiri Mposhi on the edge of Zambia’s copper belt to the port of Lobito in Angola, was first laid down in the early 1900s by colonial powers to transport critical minerals from central Africa to its Atlantic ports.
Previously known as the Benguela Railway, the project is set to carry 1mn tonnes of copper a year by 2030 and is being revived as the flagship investment in the EU’s new strategy for foreign aid: muscling up and seeking geopolitical gains for its cash.