AFC lines up regional, international lenders including Citi for Lobito corridor

By Duncan Miriri

NAIROBI, April 30 (Reuters) - The Africa Finance Corporation - lead developer of the U.S.-backed Lobito minerals transport corridor - is in talks with at least 10 African and foreign financiers to raise $3-5 billion for the project, a senior official said.

The corridor will combine new and existing railway lines linking copper and cobalt mines to Angola's Atlantic port of Lobito, part of Washington's push to secure access to strategic metals and minerals and curb Chinese influence in Africa.

AFC is in talks with South Africa's Standard Bank SBKJ.J, Absa ABGJ.J, pan-African lender Ecobank ETI.LG and Wall Street bank Citi C.N, said Osaruyi Orobosa, deputy director and head of project development and investment at the Lagos-based financier.

Development lenders include Saudi Export‑Import Bank, Germany's KfW Development Bank, Export‑Import Bank of the United States and the U.S. International Development Finance Corporation and the Development Bank of Southern Africa, he said.

"The banks want to come in... everyone wants to come in," he said, adding that discussions are focused on briefing potential financiers ahead of a fundraising push later this year.

Commercial banks are likely to participate as funders and arrangers and coordinate export credit agencies, he said. Development lenders could seek both equity and debt positions.

Commercial lenders involved in talks have not been identified publicly before.

FINANCING ROUND FOR LOBITO TO TAKE 12 MONTHS

The Lobito project is intended to counter China's revival of the Tanzania‑Zambia railway corridor. China Civil Engineering Construction Corporation (CCECC) said last year it would invest $1.4 billion in the line, which uses Tanzanian ports to export minerals.

AFC said last week it plans to launch the financing effort in the third quarter of 2026, aiming for financial close in the fourth quarter of 2027 and completion of the project by 2030.

Financing was initially supposed to be completed this year but it has been delayed by the project's complexity, Orobosa said.

It involves the construction of 515 km (320 miles) of rail lines in Zambia and 315 km in the Democratic Republic of Congo, connecting to Angola's 1,300-km Benguela line.

Last December, backers of the corridor secured financing for the rehabilitation of the Angola line from the U.S. DFC and the Development Bank of Southern Africa.

Zambia's Industrial Development Corporation and Angola's sovereign wealth fund are each expected to take 10% equity in the project through a special‑purpose vehicle that will oversee construction and operations, Orobosa said.

Other backers include the African Development Bank and the Italian government.

Bids for engineering and construction of the new rail lines drew interest from nine firms, mainly European, and are due to be opened within two months, Orobosa said.

AFC TO TAKE PART IN CONSTRUCTION OF EAST AFRICA REFINERY

Outside Lobito, the AFC will invest in the construction of a new refinery to serve East Africa announced last week.

The AFC was involved in the construction of the Dangote refinery in Nigeria through debt financing.

Africa's richest man, Nigeria' Aliko Dangote, said last week he could help East African states such as Kenya and Tanzania build a replica of his Nigerian refinery at Tanzania's port of Tanga, which could indicate a capacity to process 650,000 barrels per day.

However, that would not be enough to meet regional demand estimated at about 1.2 million barrels per day, Orobosa said.

The AFC was founded nearly two decades ago to plug the infrastructure financing gap in Africa.