*In other News, I see where it's all aboard the Train to Lobito - Toot Toot
Development of the Lobito corridor: Italy announces funding of $320 million
Italy commits to mobilize at least $320 million to support the development of the Lobito Corridor, a railway line that connects northeastern Zambia to the Angolan port of Lobito, passing through the DRC, thus joining the consortium led by the USA and the European Union (EU).
The announcement was made on Thursday June 13, 2024 by the head of the Italian government, Giorgia Meloni, on the sidelines of the G7 summit.
Giorgia Meloni, Italian Prime Minister
It was during the Global Infrastructure and Investment Partnership (PGI) Leaders' Forum that Italy made the commitment to promote sustainable development along the Lobito Corridor, which is an announced PGI flagship project by President Joe Biden at the 2023 G7 summit.
The new rail line aims to strengthen trade and regional growth and advance the shared vision of a connected, open-access railway from the Atlantic Ocean to the Indian Ocean.
It also enables additional investments in digital connectivity, agriculture value chains, green energy supply chains and the electrification of rural health centers, among other transformative economic imperatives.
“In support of the Mattei Plan and Prime Minister Meloni's PGI, Italy has officially joined the US-EU-led consortium for the Lobito Corridor, committing at least $320 million in grants, funding equity and debt capital to finance a new 800-kilometer rail section of the planned project, the first open-access transcontinental rail network, which will help stimulate economic development,” the White House announced in a statement, stressing that the PGI continues to seek additional opportunities to connect initial Lobito Corridor investments across the continent, to Tanzania and ultimately the Indian Ocean, while creating quality jobs and improving lives.
According to the same source, the United Kingdom also announced new commitments of more than $50 million to contribute to African infrastructure and clean energy transport projects, as well as geological studies along the Lobito corridor.
For his part, President Biden highlighted the progress made in the PGI economic corridors which, according to him, reflect how the US government is working with its partners to stimulate infrastructure investments in emerging markets, emphasizing emphasis on the development of strategic economic corridors for multi-sectoral impact in all countries.
In October 2023, the African Development Bank (AfDB) and the Africa Finance Corporation (AFC) joined the United States and the European Union in supporting Angola, the Democratic Republic of Congo and Zambia in development. of the Lobito Corridor and the new Zambia-Lobito railway line, by signing a memorandum of understanding between seven parties, on the sidelines of the “Global Gateway” forum in Brussels, Belgium.
The MoU highlights the signatories' intention to collaborate across multiple sectors to realize the full economic potential of the corridor, building on the agreement on the Lobito Corridor Transit Transport Facilitation Agency , signed by the three African governments in January 2023, and anchored by the historic investment envisaged in the development of the brand new Zambia-Lobito railway line.
mediacongo
. I wonder how many offers they’ll get … I’d guess not many 
