DR Congo's state water utility REGIDESO is moving forward with plans to build a bottled water production facility in Kinshasa. The company has published a tender notice to select a contractor for the industrial complex, as part of a broader effort to diversify its revenue streams.

According to documents reviewed by Bankable, the tender file bears an approval stamp from the Directorate General for Public Procurement Control (DGCMP), dated April 22, 2026. The notice for the construction of a turnkey industrial bottled drinking water complex in Kinshasa was subsequently published on May 28, 2026, on the portal of the Public Procurement Regulatory Authority (ARMP).

The document states that the contract is included in the supplementary procurement plan for works for fiscal year 2026, approved by the DGCMP on March 2, 2026, and published on the ARMP website on March 13, 2026.

Through this tender, REGIDESO is seeking a contractor capable of delivering a fully operational industrial complex. The selected firm will be responsible for designing the entire production process, from water intake through to bottling.

According to the tender notice, the selected contractor will also be required to supply equipment for water treatment and packaging, and to carry out the civil engineering works and associated infrastructure.

To allow prospective bidders to assess site conditions, REGIDESO has scheduled a mandatory site visit on Tuesday, June 16, 2026, beginning at 10:30 a.m. The meeting point is the commercial directorate of REGIDESO Kinshasa-Est, at the N'djili site.

Strict Criteria

Interested companies may obtain the full tender file from REGIDESO's Supply and Logistics Directorate. Procurement of the file requires a non-refundable payment of $500.

Bids must be submitted no later than Wednesday, July 1, 2026, at 2:00 p.m. Kinshasa local time, and must be accompanied by a bank guarantee equivalent to at least 2% of the submitted bid amount. Bids will be opened the same day at 2:30 p.m.

The state utility has set several qualification criteria. On the administrative side, bidders must provide documents attesting to their legal existence, including notarized articles of association, incorporation documents or their equivalent. They must also provide their registration certificate with the RCCM (Trade and Personal Property Credit Register), a national identification number, a valid tax clearance certificate and a certificate confirming compliance with social security contribution obligations.

On the financial side, REGIDESO requires certified financial statements for fiscal years 2023, 2024 and 2025. Companies must also demonstrate that their average annual turnover over the past three years is at least equal to the value of their submitted bid.

Technical qualifications will also play a key role in the evaluation. Candidates must provide documentary evidence of having successfully completed, within the past 10 years, at least three projects of comparable scale involving the design and construction of industrial drinking water bottling facilities.

They must also provide certificates of origin for the proposed equipment, along with proof that the relevant manufacturers comply with applicable standards, including ISO 9001, ISO 14001 and ISO 22000.

The estimated contract value, planned production capacity and commissioning schedule for the future plant are not specified in the tender notice reviewed.

Timothée Manoke