China, Zambia, and Tanzania have signed a $1.4 billion deal to revamp the Tazara Railway. Originally built in the 1970s by Mao Zedong to connect Zambia’s Copperbelt to Dar es Salaam, the line will be managed for 30 years by the state-owned China Civil Engineering Construction Corp.
The project gives Lusaka a faster corridor to export copper to Asia and is a direct response to the rise of the Lobito Corridor, the flagship railway project showcased at the June Europe–Africa summit hosted by Italy.
Decoding the news: The West is betting on Lobito to reshape supply chains and redefine its role in Africa. The contest with China will be long and won’t be decided by a single railway.
The two projects
- Tazara: about 350 miles longer than Lobito, it strengthens China’s bilateral model and reinforces eastward routes to Asia.
- Lobito: a multilateral infrastructure (EU with Global Gateway, Italy with the Mattei Plan, U.S. with multi-billion packages, AfDB, AFC) operated by a Western private consortium.
- Common goals are cutting transport time and costs and accelerating copper and cobalt value chains.
Italy’s role: At the June Italy–Africa summit, Meloni’s government highlighted Lobito as a key element of the Mattei Plan, announcing €1.2 billion in agreements (via CDP and SACE).
- Rome aims to act as a bridge between Europe, the U.S. and Africa.
- Later that month, Washington boosted the project with a $5 billion package.
The geopolitical contest
- For Beijing, Tazara ensures continuity of its supply chains domination.
- For Lusaka and Dar es Salaam, it brings immediate opportunities in trade and jobs.
- For Africa, it’s a choice between two governance models: bilateral, state-driven (China) vs multilateral, transparent (West).
What we’re watching:
- Whether Lobito can attract enough investment to cut transit times from 45 days to 45 hours.
- The West’s ability to deliver a stable, inclusive model.
- African governments’ decisions are the true arbiters of this global competition – and not only over critical raw materials.
