What could a president who has just pardoned his son from crimes during thanksgiving weekend when everybody was asleep, be doing in a lightning visit to Africa in the ending times of his term? It sounds fishy right? As we have learnt in the past, the transition times are the shady times of an administration. So what was President Biden doing in Angola at this time? Why wait until the end of his term for his first visit to Africa? Why was he not then at the re-opening ceremony of the Notre Dame Cathedral in France with all world leaders at the end of the week? We are told that this lightning first visit to Africa is to cement a deal that will benefit Angola, the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), and Zambia: the deal called the Lobito Atlantic Railway project.

The Lobito Corridor is connected by a stretch of railway infrastructure snaking through mineral (70% of the world’s cobalt is found in the DRC) and oil-rich parts of Angola, the DRC, and Zambia (70% of the world’s copper). Many of these minerals are considered critical for the energy transition adding an additional layer of urgency (The New Scramble for Africa, The Geological Scandal that is the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), DRC and Zambia Sign Over Cobalt and Copper Resources Rights to the United States?, When Einstein Wrote to the US President about Congo for its Uranium ). The Lobito project provides a faster access route to the mines in these parts of the world and a pathway to the Atlantic Ocean. The rail route was established in the early 1900s and thrived until the mid-1970s. During the dark days of Angola, in the civil war era, the Angolan parts of the railway were destroyed. From 2006 to 2015, the Lobito project was resurrected/rehabilitated by the Chinese government in the region, who spent over $2 billion rail-for-oil program, but JLo as João Lourenço, the president of Angola is known, has decided to change hands from the Chinese to the Americans and Europeans. In 2022, the Lobito Atlantic Railway concession, a 30-year concession (extendable an additional 20 years), was awarded to a consortium of Western companies.

This investment represents the first alternative from Washington DC to China’s Belt and Road Initiative. As President Biden said in 2023 during JLo’s visit to Washington, “This [the Lobito railway project] first-of-its kind project is the biggest US rail investment in Africa ever,” … “A partnership between Angola and America is more important and more impactful than ever.” President Hichilema of Zambia said, “This corridor is of vital importance to opening up our countries, to opening up our regions, the continent, and truly the global economy,… This project is a huge opportunity for investment, for trade.”

Many see the Lobito Atlantic Railway project more as a West (US/Europe) vs. East (China) war interest on the African continent; while some imagine a money laundering scheme (after all Africa is known for its opacity in accounting) in the last days of an outgoing administration. You, dear reader, what do you think this is?

For more information, please read the Lobito Corridor, US News, CNN, and the White House press release.