Investing in the World
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The United States and its G7 partners — Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the European Union and the United Kingdom — want people everywhere to thrive. That means helping friends in emerging markets develop what they need to participate in the global economy, things like reliable railways to take farmers’ crops to market, ready electricity in all homes, good ports to serve shipping industries and Wi-Fi to aid entrepreneurs’ sales, among other things.
The G7 launched the Partnership for Global Infrastructure and Investment (PGI) to help small towns and large regions to build up-to-date infrastructure, while caring for the environment and the citizens who will be involved.
Since PGI was launched, the U.S. has mobilized over $60 billion — in grants, loans and investments by the U.S. government, its investment agencies and the private sector — to spur infrastructure projects. What’s more, the U.S. is committed to mobilizing $200 billion by 2027 and is working with the G7 to bring the total capital for such projects to $600 billion.
“Together, we’ve initiated quality and sustainable infrastructure projects across Africa, Asia, and the Americas,” President Biden said at a G7 event. The efforts strengthen nations’ “shared climate security, health security, and food security, and economic security.”
One place you can see PGI in action: southern Africa’s Lobito Corridor, a three-country region anchored by rail connections.
The Benguela Railway starts in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and runs west to east in Angola, ending at the Atlantic coast's port of Lobito. (© Eric Laffourgue/Gamma-Rapho/Getty Images)
The Benguela Railway starts in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and runs west to east in Angola, ending at the Atlantic coast's port of Lobito. (© Eric Laffourgue/Gamma-Rapho/Getty Images)
“People who live along that corridor can participate not only in commerce but in other activities that really benefit the economic development of themselves and their countries,” State Department Acting Special Coordinator for PGI Helaina Matza told Voice of America.
A vendor sells flour at a market in the DRC. (© Kenny Katombe/Reuters)
A vendor sells flour at a market in the DRC. (© Kenny Katombe/Reuters)
Let’s take a look at what PGI efforts in the Lobito Corridor have — and will accomplish — in Angola, the DRC, and Zambia.
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The United States and its G7 partners — Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the European Union and the United Kingdom — want people everywhere to thrive. That means helping friends in emerging markets develop what they need to participate in the global economy, things like reliable railways to take farmers’ crops to market, ready electricity in all homes, good ports to serve shipping industries and Wi-Fi to aid entrepreneurs’ sales, among other things.
The G7 launched the Partnership for Global Infrastructure and Investment (PGI) to help small towns and large regions to build up-to-date infrastructure, while caring for the environment and the citizens who will be involved.
Since PGI was launched, the U.S. has mobilized over $60 billion — in grants, loans and investments by the U.S. government, its investment agencies and the private sector — to spur infrastructure projects. What’s more, the U.S. is committed to mobilizing $200 billion by 2027 and is working with the G7 to bring the total capital for such projects to $600 billion.
“Together, we’ve initiated quality and sustainable infrastructure projects across Africa, Asia, and the Americas,” President Biden said at a G7 event. The efforts strengthen nations’ “shared climate security, health security, and food security, and economic security.”
One place you can see PGI in action: southern Africa’s Lobito Corridor, a three-country region anchored by rail connections.
The Benguela Railway starts in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and runs west to east in Angola, ending at the Atlantic coast's port of Lobito. (© Eric Laffourgue/Gamma-Rapho/Getty Images)
The Benguela Railway starts in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and runs west to east in Angola, ending at the Atlantic coast's port of Lobito. (© Eric Laffourgue/Gamma-Rapho/Getty Images)
“People who live along that corridor can participate not only in commerce but in other activities that really benefit the economic development of themselves and their countries,” State Department Acting Special Coordinator for PGI Helaina Matza told Voice of America.
A vendor sells flour at a market in the DRC. (© Kenny Katombe/Reuters)
A vendor sells flour at a market in the DRC. (© Kenny Katombe/Reuters)
Let’s take a look at what PGI efforts in the Lobito Corridor have — and will accomplish — in Angola, the DRC, and Zambia.
// Consistent, reliable electricity
The U.S. Export-Import Bank is financing $2 billion in clean, renewable, and accessible solar power. The investment covers more than a gigawatt of power in southern Angola and to the national grid.
Power Africa is working with the African Development Bank and the Angolan government to build an integrated, national grid and more transmission lines in areas that haven’t previously had access.
Together, these investments will power more homes, ensure clean drinking water, support health services and transform businesses that contribute to the Angolan economy.
Investment in Angola's national grid will bring a steady electrical supply to the region. (© Antonio Rodrigues Peyneau/Shutterstock.com)
Investment in Angola's national grid will bring a steady electrical supply to the region. (© Antonio Rodrigues Peyneau/Shutterstock.com)
// Cell towers and expanded 5G
A telecommunications tower in Zambia (© Rebecca Coles/Alamy)
A telecommunications tower in Zambia (© Rebecca Coles/Alamy)
Africell, a U.S. telecom company operating in the DRC and Angola, is expanding telecommunications and digital services so that rural Angolans can stay connected. And with USAID support to expand access, Africell can bring more Angolans who use Nokia phones into the Afrimoney program and into the digital economy.
A woman talks on her mobile phone in village in Angola. (© Abbie Trayler-Smith/Panos Pictures/Redux)
A woman talks on her mobile phone in village in Angola. (© Abbie Trayler-Smith/Panos Pictures/Redux)
// Reliable bridges and rails
A suspension bridge over Catumbela River linking the Angolan cities of Benguela and Lobito (© osn123/Shutterstock.com)
A suspension bridge over Catumbela River linking the Angolan cities of Benguela and Lobito (© osn123/Shutterstock.com)
Through PGI, the U.S. is financing the construction of 180 bridges across Angola, helping rural communities connect to each other and transport goods to market efficiently.
But the U.S. also invests in train tracks for the first transcontinental rail network, to connect Angola, Zambia, the DRC. Eventually, the rails could reach Tanzania. Freight trains can boost trade among the countries and help local economies to thrive.
Trains can provide efficient transport of minerals from mining areas to manufacturing hubs and food from farms to urban centers. By expanding routes, the project will reduce road travel, which is slower and results in greater carbon emissions.
Lobito Atlantic Railway train carrying mineral cargo to the Port of Lobito. (Courtesy of Lobito Atlantic Railway)
Lobito Atlantic Railway train carrying mineral cargo to the Port of Lobito. (Courtesy of Lobito Atlantic Railway)
// Local farming hubs
A family of cotton farmers in the Malanje province of Angola (Courtesy of The Carrinho Group)
A family of cotton farmers in the Malanje province of Angola (Courtesy of The Carrinho Group)
The Carrinho Group invests in Angola’s farmers to help the region develop a reliable supply of locally grown food.
Until now, most food consumed by people in the DRC and Angola was imported. But Angola has 40 million hectares of arable farmland, and it is poised to become an agricultural hub.
The group is giving farmers the seeds, fertilizers, and money they need to grow their businesses. They also plan to upgrade food-storage infrastructure along the Lobito Corridor to prevent spoilage.
Grain silos line the train tracks in Angola's Benguela province. (Courtesy of The Carrinho Group)
Grain silos line the train tracks in Angola's Benguela province. (Courtesy of The Carrinho Group)
// The Lobito Corridor will join transportation infrastructure, digital connectivity, health resources, clean power, and agriculture development to spur economic growth and a healthy environment.
Nelson Carrinho, of the Carrinho Group, talks to Secretary of State Antony Blinken about the group's investments in Angola. (State Dept./Chuck Kennedy)
Nelson Carrinho, of the Carrinho Group, talks to Secretary of State Antony Blinken about the group's investments in Angola. (State Dept./Chuck Kennedy)
The Lobito Corridor is becoming a bustling economic region, one that will create a thriving middle class, where food security, health and economic opportunity will be ensured.
People walk on a street in Luanda, the capital of Angola. (© Li Yahui/Getty Images)
People walk on a street in Luanda, the capital of Angola. (© Li Yahui/Getty Images)
In addition to the Lobito Corridor project, PGI is delivering on President Biden and the G7’s commitment to infrastructure investment with these recently announced projects:
The Luzon Corridor — which the U.S. and Japan support — will improve infrastructure (railways and ports) and boost clean energy, semiconductor supply chains and agribusiness in the Philippines.
The introduction of commercial subsea cable systems, including Google’s South Pacific Connect subsea cables, to link the Pacific Islands via the internet, with support from the U.S. and Australian governments.
A U.S. Trade and Development Agency-funded study to advance a 110-megawatt wind farm in Indonesia.
U.S. support (with a payment security mechanism that will unlock $10 billion in investment capital) for the manufacturing of 40,000 e-buses in India.
An economic corridor to connect India to Europe — with a railway line and existing ports — to help supply chains, food security, and clean-energy trading.
$300 million in financing from the U.S. International Development Finance Corporation so that Africa Data Centres can create data centers in Ghana and other countries in the region.
A $3.3 million grant from the U.S. International Development Finance Corporation to Institut Pasteur de Dakar to develop an industrial-scale, multi-vaccine manufacturing facility in Senegal.
An equity investment by the U.S. International Development Finance Corporation in TechMet Limited to support nickel and cobalt production in Brazil.
A $150 million loan from the U.S. International Development Finance Corporation will improve the Puerto Bolivar container port in Ecuador, and that will create jobs and help the local farming sector (which in turn strengthens food security).
In addition to the Lobito Corridor project, PGI is delivering on President Biden and the G7’s commitment to infrastructure investment with these recently announced projects:
The Luzon Corridor — which the U.S. and Japan support — will improve infrastructure (railways and ports) and boost clean energy, semiconductor supply chains, and agribusiness in the Philippines.
The introduction of commercial subsea cable systems, including Google’s South Pacific Connect subsea cables, to link the Pacific Islands via the internet, with support from the U.S. and Australian governments.
A U.S. Trade and Development Agency-funded study to advance a 110-megawatt wind farm in Indonesia.
U.S. support (with a payment security mechanism that will unlock $10 billion in investment capital) for the manufacturing of 40,000 e-buses in India.
An economic corridor to connect India to Europe — with a railway line and existing ports — to help supply chains, food security, and clean-energy trading.
$300 million in financing from the U.S. International Development Finance Corporation so that Africa Data Centres can create data centers in Ghana and other countries in the region.
A $3.3 million grant from the U.S. International Development Finance Corporation to Institut Pasteur de Dakar to develop an industrial-scale, multi-vaccine manufacturing facility in Senegal.
An equity investment by the U.S. International Development Finance Corporation in TechMet Limited to support nickel and cobalt production in Brazil.
A $150 million loan from the U.S. International Development Finance Corporation will improve the Puerto Bolivar container port in Ecuador, and that will create jobs and help the local farming sector (which in turn strengthens food security).
Writer: Noelani Kirschner
Photo editor: Suzy Mast
Graphic Designer: Frank Carter
Copy editor: Kathleen Hendrix
Digital storyteller: Pierce McManus
June 2024
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