Highlights

• Congo’s RVF launches buoyage campaign on three rivers covering over 500 km (310 miles)
• The effort aims to improve navigation safety and boost transport reliability
• Officials stress the need for more resources to sustain operations

DR Congo’s river authority, Régie des voies fluviales (RVF), has begun a buoyage operation across more than 500 km (310 miles) of waterways, aiming to improve navigation and reduce accident risks.

The campaign, launched Sept. 1, covers 13 km (8 miles) on the Kwango, 329 km (204 miles) on the Kwilu up to Kikwit, and 187 km (116 miles) on the Kasaï between Kwamouth and Kandolo, RVF said. It also includes hydrographic and hydrological surveys to enhance traffic flow and support trade along these strategic corridors.

Transport ministry official Abolia Taba Mopolo, who inaugurated the operation, said river infrastructure is vital for mobility, multimodal transport, and economic development.

By February this year, RVF had already secured 1,734 km (1,077 miles) of the Congo River between Kinshasa and Kisangani, after earlier works on 605 km (376 miles) of the Kasaï. But the agency still faces financial and technical limits. At the launch, Kwilu provincial authorities urged greater resources to ensure permanent beaconing of the waterways.

Ronsard Luabeya