The construction and concession of the Congolese dry port of Kwala in Tanzania will require an estimated investment of $291.3 million, according to a public-private partnership approval document signed on April 11, 2026, by Prime Minister Judith Suminwa Tuluka.

The document, published on April 30, approves the contract awarded to Dubai-based Boston Developers Ltd., which signed the agreement with the Congolese government on March 12. At the time, the financial terms of the partnership had not been disclosed.

The newly released figure provides the first clear indication of the project’s scale. The initiative is part of broader logistics cooperation between Kinshasa and Dodoma along the central transport corridor. However, several key elements remain unspecified in the document reviewed, including the concession period, projected revenues, construction schedule and the concessionaire’s detailed obligations.

According to official statements about the project, financing is expected to come from the private partner.

A Hub 60 Kilometres from Dar es Salaam

The Congolese dry port of Kwala will be part of the Kwala logistics hub, located about 60 kilometres from the port of Dar es Salaam. The platform was opened on July 31, 2025, by Tanzanian President Samia Suluhu Hassan. Tanzanian authorities have presented it as a strategic tool to ease congestion at Dar es Salaam and strengthen the country’s role as a regional transit hub.

Under the arrangement, the Democratic Republic of Congo has been allocated 45 hectares at the Kwala site. The facilities are expected to streamline customs procedures, improve cargo tracking for imports and exports, and reduce logistics costs.

According to projections, the integration of the Kwala dry port could cut transit times for Congolese goods by around 10 days, reducing them from roughly 15-16 days to between five and six days.

The project is part of wider logistics cooperation between the DRC and Tanzania. In return for the land allocated to the DRC in Tanzania, the Congolese government has granted Tanzania sites in Haut-Katanga, including in Kasenga and Kasumbalesa, as well as a location at Kasanbondo in Tanganyika province.

In addition to Kwala, the DRC also has access to a 15-hectare site at the port of Katosho in Kigoma, on the Tanzanian shore of Lake Tanganyika. The facility is expected to support Congolese logistics operations in Tanzania, particularly trade flows serving eastern DRC.

Timothée Manoke