The Lobito Corridor, Infrastructure and Urban Transformation

Insights from the Forum

Zambia’s strategic location in Southern Africa places Kitwe at the heart of regional trade, and urban transformation opportunities. The development of the Lobito Corridor, connecting Zambia and the Democratic Republic of Congo to the Atlantic port of Lobito in Angola, represents a transformative infrastructure and trade initiative with far-reaching implications for industrial, economic diversification, and urban development. For cities such as Kitwe, the Lobito Corridor is not only a trade and transport project but also a catalyst for urban infrastructure development, spatial transformation, job creation, social, and economic development.
However, maximizing these benefits requires deliberate planning, strong institutional coordination, inclusive urban development policies, resilient, infrastructure development that respond to social, and economic justice values. The Kitwe Urban Development Forum, that was hosted by the Friedrich Ebert Foundation with local partners which include but are not limited to; the Civic Forum on Housing and Habitat (CFHH), the Mineworkers Union of Zambia, the Copperbelt University, department of Urban and Regional Planning, the Alliance of Zambian Informal Economy Association (AZIEA) and the Kitwe City Council (KCC), was focused on discussing; The Lobito Corridor and Trade Development: Opportunities and Challenges, Infrastructure Development and Urban Transformation, and pathways for inclusive, just, and equitable urban development.