LOBITO Atlantic Railway has received its first copper shipment from the Democratic Republic of Congo since restoring a flood-damaged section of track, resuming traffic on a critical minerals export route that had been closed for around two months.
Bloomberg News reports that the Lobito-Huambo link was reopened following emergency repairs after severe flooding severed the corridor. During the closure, LAR maintained cargo flows by transferring freight between trains and trucks on either side of the damaged section.
“The arrival of this first international train from the DRC demonstrates the resilience of our operation and the extraordinary commitment of our teams,” CEO Nicholas Fournier was quoted by Bloomberg to have said.
The corridor connects the Congolese copper and cobalt belt to the Angolan Atlantic port of Lobito and forms a central element of Western-backed efforts to build transport infrastructure for critical minerals exports from central Africa.
Lobito Atlantic Railway said in April significant damage had been caused to tracks near the Halo River between Cubal and Caimbambo, roughly 140km southeast of the coastal city of Benguela. Flooding also affected infrastructure near the Cavaco River following heavy rains.
