The Congolese government on May 22 adopted a national road connectivity program covering 22,000 km of roads, according to a summary issued after the 90th ordinary meeting of the Council of Ministers.

Infrastructure and Public Works Minister John Banza Lunda said the program aims to link provincial and territorial capitals, maintain existing roads and gradually modernize the national road network.

The plan includes the stabilization, paving or concreting of roads according to their economic, strategic and security importance, the government said.

A priority network

The program reflects a scaling back of the government's road rehabilitation ambitions since 2025. Earlier that year, authorities launched a nationwide program targeting 38,000 km of rural roads and 11,423 km of priority routes to improve transport links and support agricultural production areas.

The initiative relied partly on road maintenance brigades deployed across the provinces and on rehabilitation work along major national corridors used for trade and transport.

But implementation later exposed major financial, logistical and technical constraints. Government figures released at the end of 2025 showed that only about 8,000 km of rural roads had been rehabilitated, far below the initial 38,000-km target.

Some work nevertheless progressed in provinces including Kasai-Oriental, Haut-Katanga, Tshopo and Kongo-Central, where authorities deployed road brigades and rehabilitated sections considered priorities.

Narrowed objectives

Faced with these constraints, the government shifted toward more limited and targeted projects. In his State of the Nation address on Dec. 8, 2025, President Felix Tshisekedi announced plans to rehabilitate 3,735 km of rural roads in 2026, with a stronger focus on strategic corridors.

He cited several priority sections, including 115 km between Tshikapa and the Angolan border on National Road 1; 229 km on National Road 39 between Kamwesha, Bakwanga, Tshimbulu and Mbuji-Mayi; 475 km on National Road 2 linking Mbuji-Mayi to Bukavu; 1,184 km on National Road 7 between Kananga and Kisangani; 856 km on National Road 8 between Mbandaka and Ikela; and 750 km on National Road 4 between Kisangani, Bunia and Mahagi.

Tshisekedi also announced plans to modernize the Kisangani-Ubundu rail section through a public-private partnership.

The latest strategy suggests the government is now focusing on a smaller core road network to improve transport and trade links in a country where many rural areas remain hard to reach. Authorities have not yet provided details on implementation.

Boaz Kabeya