The US Trade and Development Agency (USTDA) is to finance a new study aimed at strengthening electricity infrastructure along the Lobito Corridor, as Washington moves to expand its presence in critical mineral supply chains across Africa.
According to USTDA Africa and Middle East Director Laura Whitman, the study will focus on improving power infrastructure in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and Zambia — two countries central to the corridor linking the mining region to the Atlantic Ocean via Angola’s port of Lobito.
“The activity we will fund will provide our partners with the necessary technical analysis, the commercial framework to develop the project and, ultimately, attract financing to implement this energy infrastructure,” Whitman said during an Africa Regional Media Hub briefing.
The study, which is expected to be formally announced in the coming weeks, will assess opportunities to rehabilitate, modernise and expand electricity grids supplying mining operations and surrounding communities, particularly in Zambia’s Copperbelt region.
The area faces growing electricity demand from mining companies that frequently exceeds available capacity, leaving households and small businesses with limited access to power.
The initiative comes amid intensifying competition between the United States and China for access to minerals considered strategic for the energy transition and electrification.
The DRC is the world’s largest producer of cobalt, essential for certain electric vehicle batteries, and holds significant copper reserves — a mineral critical for electricity networks, renewable energy and electrification. The country also has deposits of lithium, tantalum, tin, tungsten and germanium, as well as gold, diamonds and rare earths.
The Lobito Corridor is regarded by Washington as a strategic route to diversify global critical mineral supply chains, connecting the DRC and Zambia to the Atlantic through Angola.
The United States has been developing partnerships with Angola, the DRC, Zambia, the European Union and other international financiers to support investment in railways, energy and other infrastructure along the corridor.
USTDA Seeks to Deepen Energy Cooperation
The US agency is also intensifying engagement between American technology companies, African state power utilities and policymakers.
Earlier this year, USTDA hosted delegations from Angola, Botswana, Mozambique and Zambia in the United States to examine solutions for grid modernisation, transmission line upgrades and regional integration of electricity systems.
Since its establishment more than three decades ago, USTDA says it has facilitated more than $127 billion in US exports linked to infrastructure projects in emerging markets.
Source: Diário Económico
Original article: https://www.diarioeconomico.co.mz/2026/09/14/mundo/africa/africa-eua-vao-financiar-estudo-para-reforcar-infra-estruturas-electricas-no-corredor-do-lobito/
