Italy's Webuild and Brazil's Odebrecht Engenharia & Construção are key members of groups selected as preferred bidders to build an 830-kilometre section of the Lobito Corridor rail line connecting Central Africa's copper and cobalt fields to Angola's Atlantic coast, the Africa Finance Corporation (AFC) announced on October 27, 2026.

The AFC, lead developer of the so-called Zambia section of the project, selected the groups, which are expected to finalise contracts within 8 to 12 weeks after talks begin next month.

Webuild, Mota-Engil SGPS and Türkiye's IC Ictas are negotiating to build the section from Chingola in Zambia to the Angolan border. Mota-Engil and Odebrecht, a unit of Novonor, are in talks regarding the section from the border to Luacano in Angola.

The overall project will run approximately 1,739 kilometres from Kolwezi in the Democratic Republic of Congo to Angola's Lobito port. It has been financially backed by the United States as it will significantly reduce transport times for critical minerals exported to Western markets. The corridor is seen as a key plank of Washington's drive to counter China's control of much of Africa's production of minerals critical to the energy transition.

"This is a significant step toward delivery," said AFC President and CEO Samaila Zubairu. "It's not going to be longer than six to eight months for us to start construction," he said, declining to disclose the contract values.

The greenfield rail line is expected to spur economic activity along its length, including value addition to minerals and fostering the production of agricultural products, the AFC said in a statement.

"What we want to do is build infrastructure that will support the growth of African production," Zubairu said. "We want African resources matched or tied to African producers, to African consumers and to global consumers as well."

Congo and Zambia are Africa's biggest copper producers, and Congo is also the world's biggest supplier of battery material cobalt. Mota-Engil is also part of groups that will build the rest of the rail line.