ANGOLA
Angola Plans a Multimodal Platform to Power the Lobito Corridor
Angola is moving ahead with plans for a new multimodal logistics platform in Luau, a border town at the eastern end of the Lobito Corridor. The project is designed to strengthen cargo transshipment along the corridor, which links Angola's Atlantic coast to the Democratic Republic of Congo and Zambia.
The IDOM/Globaltec consortium is finalizing the master plan, which will then go out to public tender under a 30-year concession covering design, construction, operation, and commercial management. Once built, the platform is set to include warehouses, a fuel terminal, a minerals terminal, and industrial zones for grain milling and prefabricated concrete production.
Luau is a natural fit for this kind of investment. As one of Angola's main overland gateways to the DRC and Zambia, the town already sees steady cross-border cargo flows that a purpose-built facility could handle far more efficiently.
The platform is part of a much larger push behind the Lobito Corridor, which has attracted more than $10 billion in public and private investment. Backers are aiming to bring shipping cycles to Europe and North America down to around 20 days, well under the several weeks that competing routes take — a change that could reshape how mining companies and traders in landlocked Zambia and the DRC plan their exports.
With the corridor gaining real momentum, now is a good time for businesses shipping to or through Angola to make sure their documentation keeps pace. Our ECTN certificate services for Angola help your cargo clear customs smoothly, so you're ready to benefit from the corridor's growing capacity.
Sources: agenceecofin.com | ecofinagency.com
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DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF CONGO
Port of Matadi Aims to Double Container Capacity by 2027
The Port of Matadi, the Democratic Republic of Congo's main gateway to the sea, is undergoing a major upgrade aimed at doubling its container handling capacity within the next two years. Matadi Corridor Terminaux à Conteneurs (MCTC), which holds a 20-year, renewable concession to operate the terminal, is targeting throughput of 400,000 TEUs a year by 2027, up from a baseline of around 200,000 TEUs.
The work centers on quays 5, 6, and 7, where a new pile-supported quay roughly 350 metres long is being built, along with three connecting bridges to the existing docks and a 7-hectare logistics platform. The overall program is valued at close to $250 million, with the construction contract, worth more than €100 million, awarded to French firm Eiffage Génie Civil Marine.
Eiffage's 27-month build is designed to proceed without interrupting day-to-day port operations, an important detail given how central Matadi is to the DRC's trade. The project also has a clear local dimension: more than 90% of construction workers are being recruited locally, with over 500 jobs created during construction and around 200 permanent positions expected once the terminal is operational.
For a river port that handles the bulk of the DRC's containerized trade, doubling capacity is a meaningful step toward easing congestion and supporting the country's growing import and export volumes.
As Matadi's capacity grows, having your documentation in order becomes even more important for keeping cargo moving. Our ECTN certificate services for the DRC help ensure your shipments clear customs without delay, so you can take full advantage of the port's expansion.
Sources: lepoint.cd | eiffage.com | africa-infos.cd
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DJIBOUTI
Djibouti and Ethiopia Clear a 25 Year Logistics Bottleneck
For 25 years, trucks moving goods along the Ethiopia-Djibouti corridor have dealt with chronic congestion at Mojo, a key transit town south of Addis Ababa. That bottleneck is finally being cleared. On 2 August, Ethiopia's government formally handed over land in Mojo to Djibouti for the construction of a dedicated heavy-vehicle parking terminal built specifically for Djiboutian freight trucks.
The new terminal will give trucks a proper place to park, load, and stage their cargo instead of queuing along roads and informal lots near the Mojo Dry Port, one of Ethiopia's busiest import and export hubs. Streamlining vehicle movement should make the corridor more predictable for the freight companies and traders who rely on it.
The Ethiopia-Djibouti corridor is the backbone of trade for landlocked Ethiopia, which depends on the Port of Djibouti for the vast majority of its imports and exports. The route is anchored by a 752-kilometre electrified railway that currently moves around 2 million tonnes of freight a year, with plans to lift that to 6.2 million tonnes by 2027 as rail capacity expands alongside road improvements like the new terminal.
Ethiopia's Minister of Transport and Logistics, Alemu Sime, said the land transfer reflects the two countries' “strong historical, economic and strategic relations,” crediting Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed for helping resolve an issue that had lingered for a quarter of a century.
As traffic along this corridor picks up pace, having your paperwork in order matters more than ever. Our ECTN certificate services for Djibouti help keep your shipments moving smoothly through the port and beyond, so you're ready to benefit from a faster, more reliable corridor.
Sources: capitalethiopia.com | sputniknews.africa
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BURKINA FASO
A New Security Deal Aims to Keep Burkina Faso's Trade Route Open
Burkina Faso's main trade route to the sea is getting a new layer of protection. On 5 August, Ghana's Foreign Minister Shirley Ayorkor Botchwey and her Burkinabè counterpart, Karamoko Jean-Marie Traoré, signed a bilateral agreement in Accra to secure the trade corridor between the Port of Tema and Ouagadougou.
The accord targets the Tema-Ouagadougou and Paga-Ouagadougou routes, identified by ECOWAS as critical transit axes for landlocked Burkina Faso. It introduces joint patrols along vulnerable stretches of road, a shared coordination center for exchanging intelligence, and security escorts for sensitive convoys carrying petroleum and cereals. The goal is to push back against terrorism, banditry, and trafficking that have made parts of the corridor riskier and more expensive to use, driven in part by rising jihadist activity across the wider Sahel.
A joint committee has already been set up to oversee the patrols and pinpoint the road segments that need the most attention, with a review scheduled for the fourth quarter of 2026 to assess how much transit times and security incidents have improved.
The agreement complements a longer-term infrastructure push along the same corridor: the Tema-Mpakadan railway, a 96.7-kilometre line, forms the first phase of a project ultimately planned to stretch roughly 1,000 kilometres to Ouagadougou. Together, better security and new rail capacity point toward a more resilient trade route for Burkina Faso's imports and exports.
As security measures take hold along the corridor, keeping your own paperwork in order is just as important for avoiding delays. Our ECTN certificate services for Burkina Faso help ensure your shipments clear customs smoothly, so your cargo keeps moving safely to and from Ouagadougou.
Sources: capmad.com | gbcghanaonline.com
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