Chinese-built road rehab project for DR Congo breaks ground

Published: July 05,2024

Alexis Gisaro Muvuni, minister of State for Infrastructure and Public Works of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, speaks at the groundbreaking ceremony for the rehabilitation and modernization project of a provincial road in Kananga, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), on July 3, 2024 (Xinhua/Shi Yu)

A groundbreaking ceremony for the rehabilitation and modernization project of a provincial road in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) was held Wednesday in Kananga, the capital city of DRC’s Central Kasai province.

At the ceremony, Alexis Gisaro Muvuni, DRC minister of State for Infrastructure and Public Works, driving a wheel loader himself, personally launched the rehabilitation and modernization project of the provincial road for the Central Kasai province.

“This is a road that brings hope and a road that connects the people of the Central Kasai to development opportunities,” said the DRC minister.

He said that the Chinese side has empowered DRC’s vision for road interconnectivity with “secured financing” and solid techniques.

The project, with a length of about 230 km, connecting Kananga and Kalamba Mbuji, a border town with Angola, is expected to facilitate transportation and transborder business, said Pang Long, director general of Sino-Congolese Infrastructure Company, representing the Chinese side of the cooperation package.

An amendment to the China-DRC cooperation package of “resource for projects” was signed in March 2024 between a group of Chinese companies and the DRC government, which will provide an investment of some 7 billion U.S. dollars mainly intended for the DRC infrastructure construction and the SICOMINES, a joint venture created in 2008 by the DRC public mining company and the group of Chinese companies.

Alexis Gisaro Muvuni, minister of State for Infrastructure and Public Works of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, drives a wheel loader to launch the rehabilitation and modernization project of a provincial road in Kananga, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), on July 3, 2024. (Xinhua/Shi Yu)

Xinhua