Republican President Hakainde Hichilema says the Lobito Corridor project stands to greatly benefit all the cooperating partners who must prioritize its completion.
President Hichilema has indicated that his government places great importance and commitment to the progress of the multi-modal transport corridor which will interconnect Angola, Zambia and DR Congo.
“The Lobito Corridor is very important to us with Angola and DR Congo. As these three countries, we are very keen to get the Lobito Corridor traction on and we have already signed all the agreements. We want to get this on in 2025,” President Hichilema said.
With the new government now ushered into office in the US, President Hichilema says Zambia and its cooperating partners are hopeful that the new Donald Trump administration will remain committed to the Lobito Corridor project.
“We are aware of the change of government and we believe that Trump government as our partner and the EU as another partner and will see this as a critical project,” he said.
The Head of State further urged the Trump administration to consider the Lobito Corridor as a project of economic benefit to the US as well as all cooperating partners involved.
“This should be a by-partizan agenda as opposed to being an agenda for the Democrats or the Republicans. I think it is good for the US, our three SADC countries and our African Union free trade area, it is good for everybody from the Atlantic ocean to the Indian ocean,” stated President Hichilema.
Meanwhile, President Hichilema has called on private investors to partner with government in revamping the Zambia Railways Limited (ZRL) network which would also be key in interconnecting countries in the region for mutual benefit in terms of trade and economic growth.
“I also want to invite you to look at Zambia Railways network to see if some of your businesses can partner with us on a Private Public Partnership model or whatever model so that this network can also be up to date,” he said.
President Hichilema was speaking at the Annual Greetings for Members of the Diplomatic Corps yesterday at the Mulungushi International Conference Centre in Lusaka.