The Africa Finance Corporation (AFC) will sign a $320 million financing deal with Italy to help fund the Lobito Corridor, a key infrastructure project linking mineral-rich regions in central Africa to the Angolan coast, the AFC’s chief executive said Thursday.
Samaila Zubairu, head of the Lagos-based institution, told Reuters that the Italian-backed funding will partly support the U.S.-endorsed Lobito rail and road project, which connects the Atlantic port of Lobito with copper and cobalt mining zones in Zambia and the Democratic Republic of Congo.
“The government of Italy has continued to express their support for the project,” Zubairu said following the launch of AFC’s annual infrastructure report. A formal signing event will take place in the coming weeks, alongside a Rome-based meeting dedicated to the corridor.
The Lobito Corridor is seen as a strategic alternative to Chinese-controlled transport routes for critical minerals in the region.
Part of the Italian financing will also go toward AFC’s broader lending activities, though exact allocations were not disclosed.
Zubairu added that the AFC, which typically targets $2–3 billion in annual capital raising, has already secured over $1 billion this year and is preparing a large syndication to raise additional funds.
