Zambia, US expand use of $491 million grant programme to critical metals infrastructure

Zambia has agreed to expand a $491 million agriculture grant programme to support critical minerals infrastructure in the Lobito Corridor, a key economic route for exporting minerals to Western markets.

Zambia said on Thursday ​it had agreed with U.S. ​agency Millennium Challenge Corporation ‌to expand ​the use of a $491 million agriculture grant programme to support key critical minerals infrastructure. The "farm-to-market" grant, ‌signed in 2024, was originally aimed at boosting agricultural development in Africa's No. 2 copper producing country.

"The realignment will support both Zambia's agricultural ‌and critical minerals economy in the Lobito Corridor - a key economic corridor ‌for Zambia," Zambia's finance ministry said in a statement. The Lobito Corridor is centred on a rail link between the continent's top copper and cobalt producer, Democratic ⁠Republic of ​Congo, and Angola's ⁠Atlantic port of Lobito.

The route is seen as strategic for exporting critical minerals ⁠to Western markets seeking to counter China's dominance in metals vital for ​the energy transition. Zambia aims to link its copperbelt to the ⁠corridor. Lead project developer, the African Finance Corporation, has said it is targeting financial close ⁠in ​the fourth quarter of 2027.

Some of the grant funding will be redirected to infrastructure tied to the project, the ⁠ministry said. "Priority road segments identified for rehabilitation have been aligned with the ⁠Lobito Corridor ⁠in the North-Western and Copperbelt Provinces — one of Africa’s most significant emerging trade and logistics Corridors," it added.