Angola’s Secretary of State for Planning, Luís Epalanga, argued on Monday that the Lobito Corridor represents a historic opportunity to accelerate the country’s economic transition and reduce its dependence on oil. He made the remarks during the launch of the World Bank’s Angola Economic Report, themed ‘The Lobito Corridor: From Transit to Transformation: An Engine for Economic Diversification and Regional Integration’, which examines the corridor’s potential to drive economic diversification and regional integration.
According to Epalanga, the Lobito Corridor must go beyond a simple infrastructure project and become a genuine development corridor capable of stimulating agriculture, strengthening agro-industry and manufacturing, expanding logistics platforms, fostering the digital economy, and accelerating the growth of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).
‘Infrastructure alone does not generate transformation. That depends on the quality of institutions, human capital, access to financing, regional coordination, and a competitive, transparent, and predictable business environment,’ Epalanga said. He added that the ‘railway line linking Zambia to the Port of Lobito must evolve from a simple logistics route into a freight corridor that promotes regional integration, industrialisation, food security, the energy transition, and territorial inclusion.’
In its Angola Economic Report, the World Bank ‘projects that growth will remain modest in the medium term, averaging 2.7% between 2026 and 2028, driven primarily by the non-oil economy; with the continued decline in per capita income, the poverty rate is expected to remain high, with approximately four in ten people remaining in poverty through 2027.’
According to the report, the Lobito Corridor — which connects the Democratic Republic of Congo and Zambia to the Port of Lobito by rail — represents a unique opportunity to reduce logistics costs, improve connectivity, and attract investment into sectors outside the extractive industry and major urban centres.
However, the World Bank cautioned that the success of the project will depend not only on infrastructure investment, but also on the implementation of institutional reforms that create favourable conditions for economic development.
The report further highlights that ‘non-oil sectors, supported by ongoing structural reforms — particularly agriculture — are expected to lead economic growth, while oil production continues to decline,’ and projects that public debt will fall to 49.1% of gross domestic product (GDP) by 2027.
‘Declining incomes, rising prices, and strong dependence on an increasingly scarce resource reinforce the urgency for Angola to diversify its economy. The heavy reliance on oil creates a cycle of economic instability that has held back the development of non-oil sectors and, as a result, the country has been unable to generate widespread productivity gains or sufficient fiscal resources to invest meaningfully in improving living conditions for its population,’ the World Bank report states.
Source: Diário Económico
Original article: https://www.diarioeconomico.co.mz/2026/07/23/mundo/angola/angola-corredor-do-lobito-e-oportunidade-historica-para-diversificar-a-economia/
