LOBITO, Angola — U.S. President Joe Biden got a firsthand look Wednesday at a U.S.-financed rail project that weaves together his personal love of railroads with his desire to leave a legacy in Africa that will outlive his administration.
The Lobito Corridor is a 1,300-kilometer rail line stretching from copper-rich Zambia to the port of Lobito in the southwest nation of Angola. The railway is meant to form a “strategic economic corridor” under the Biden administration’s Partnership for Global Infrastructure and Investment, an initiative meant to counter China’s well-established, sprawling Belt and Road Initiative. So far, the Biden administration says it has committed nearly $4 billion toward the project.
In Angola’s capital, Luanda, on Tuesday, Biden cast the project through his love of passenger rail. As a U.S. senator, he commuted frequently to Washington from Wilmington, Delaware — logging nearly 340 kilometers on every trip, he said.
“I must tell you up front with American press here, I’m probably the most pro-rail guy in America,” Biden said to laughter from the audience gathered to hear him speak at the nation’s slavery museum.
On Wednesday, he toured the Lobito Port terminal and met with Angolan President Joao Lourenco, Democratic Republic of Congo President Felix Tshisekedi, Zambian President Hakainde Hichilema and Tanzanian Vice President Philip Mpango.
During a visit to a food processing factory, Biden noted the importance of the Lobito Corridor in exporting resources, as well as regional integration and development.
“We’re at one of those transition points in world history,” the U.S. president said, noting the railway will reduce travel time across Africa.
“All these projects and investments are designed to have high impact,” he said.
Biden announced the United States will invest $600 million more to upgrade the railway and further develop the Lobito Corridor.
“The United States understands that how we invest in Africa is just as important as how much we invest in Africa,” he said.
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