“Every dollar that you have heard – that’s announced already – is in motion,” Matza said in response to a question on what a new administration could mean for the Lobito corridor and other efforts. “What we’re focused on right now is how do we identify those last pieces that we need to get moving.”

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Why Russia might be warming to China’s presence in Central Asia

Why Russia might be warming to China’s presence in Central Asia

The central African copper belt that Zambia and Congo share has become the centre of a regional railway revival, as companies and governments seek to ensure there’s enough transport capacity to bring in supplies and boost exports of metals. Currently 80 per cent of goods on the continent are transported by road with truck journeys to ports sometimes taking more than a month, often with days-long border queues.

Zambia is also eying the revitalisation of another historic railway route to Dar es Salaam port in Tanzania. The governments aim to sign a deal next month with China Civil Engineering Construction Corporation for the state-owned company to take over the concession of the Tanzania-Zambia, or Tazara, line and operate it commercially.

While the US has said it wants to connect Lobito to the Tanzania coast via a trans-African railway, it is unclear whether the new Tazara concessionaire would be open to this.

“We think it’s really important to leverage existing infrastructure,” Matza said. “If we are given an opportunity to find a way to create some compatibility and open access connectivity between the work that we’re doing and Tazara and or other existing rail lines, we’re certainly going to do everything we can to pursue that.”