A report from Global Witness warns that up to 6,500 people in the Democratic Republic of the Congo risk displacement due to the Lobito Corridor, a U.S. and EU-backed infrastructure project central to the global race for critical minerals. The plan involves upgrading a colonial-era railway to Angola’s coast to export minerals like copper and cobalt.
Global Witness says plan to upgrade railway line to Angola puts up to 1,200 buildings at risk of demolition
The campaign group estimates up to 1,200 buildings, mostly in the mining city of Kolwezi, could be demolished to rehabilitate the railway. In the Bel Air neighborhood, residents have built homes and businesses close to the tracks, where a construction buffer zone was rarely enforced for decades. The line is now being revived by the Lobito Atlantic Railway (LAR) consortium, which holds a concession for the Angolan section.
Land ownership is a critical issue. A community leader told researchers some residents bought land from unauthorized vendors, while others purchased plots from workers of the state railway company (SNCC). The provincial land minister reportedly called those in the buffer zone “illegals,” but a local NGO president argued they cannot be deemed illegal after living there unchallenged for decades.
The current buffer zone is 10 meters, but future plans may enforce a 25-meter zone, which Global Witness says threatens the wider displacement. LAR, which is financing but not operating the DRC stretch, stated it has seen no evidence supporting the displacement claim. Residents, however, fear uncompensated evictions, citing past demolitions for other projects.
Western financing for the corridor includes a $553 million U.S. loan and €50 million from the EU. An EU spokesperson said the project is in early stages, with mandatory environmental and social impact assessments—including community consultation and potential resettlement plans—still underway, stressing the EU is not involved in current rehabilitation works.
• This article was amended on 4 December 2025 to clarify some details from the Global Witness report.
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Source: THE GUARDIAN
