corridors across 37 African countries: 13 whose main line runs, 4 being built, 1 approved, 1 only announced, 0 stalled
39
pieces in service of the 84 in the register: ports, railways, roads and pipelines
19
pieces being built, against 11 approved and 12 only announced
13
corridors with China as a lender, owner or builder; 6 have money or ownership from the United States or Europe
The United States and the European Union back the Lobito Corridor to take Zambian and Congolese copper west to the Atlantic; a Chinese state company holds a 30-year concession to rebuild TAZARA and take the same copper east to Dar es Salaam. Morocco and Algeria each have a pipeline to bring Nigeria's gas north to Europe. Kenya's and Tanzania's new railways compete for the trade of Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi and eastern DR Congo, and Ethiopia's can leave by a Chinese-built railway to Djibouti, an Emirati-run port at Berbera or, one day, Kenya's Lamu.
China lends for, owns or builds pieces of 13 of the 19 corridors in this register, more than any other foreign power, and all 13 pieces it leads are in service or being built. American money is in one, Lobito; European money or ownership in six. Across 37 countries the register holds 84 pieces: 39 in service, 19 being built, 11 approved, 12 only announced and 3 stalled.
The newest pieces are mostly on paper. The railway from Lobito into Zambia has a development bank's loan but no builder; Uganda's standard gauge line has its loans approved but a contract its army chief called cancelled; the Abidjan–Lagos highway has a treaty, an authority and studies but no money to build; the Atlantic gas pipeline has its West African agreement but not its investment decision.
Register compiled 12 Oct 2026 · 19 corridors in 84 pieces · 98 funders, owners and builders · 188 sources, each linked
The 19 corridors and the 37 countries they cross. Green is in service, magenta being built, blue approved and amber only announced, dashed until it is built; the map further down has the detail.
The map
Each corridor is drawn piece by piece, coloured by how far each piece has got, or, at the switch, by who pays for it. Numbers match the list beside the map and the table below; hover a line, a port or a number for the detail, and a corridor lights up on its own.