The Democratic Republic of Congo signed a concession agreement on March 12 with Boston Developers Ltd for the development of the Congolese dry port at Kwala, Tanzania. The announcement was made in an official statement from the Ministry of Transport and Waterways.

The signing ceremony took place in the presence of Deputy Prime Minister and Transport Minister Jean-Pierre Bemba and his Tanzanian counterpart, Transport Minister Makame Mbarawa, who both welcomed the strengthening of economic cooperation between the DRC and Tanzania.

In its statement, the transport ministry did not disclose the terms of the partnership. It said only that the signing of the agreement marked a milestone in the development of the Congolese logistics project at Kwala. The dry port is intended to facilitate customs clearance operations, improve tracking of Congolese freight for both imports and exports, and help curb trade fraud.

The Congolese project is part of the wider development of the Kwala logistics hub, which was inaugurated on July 31, 2025, by Tanzanian President Samia Suluhu Hassan. Located approximately 90 kilometers from the port of Dar es Salaam, the logistics hub includes a dry port, a connection to the standard gauge railway network and facilities for freight transport and storage.

According to Tanzanian authorities, the infrastructure is expected to significantly reduce transit times for goods between the port of Dar es Salaam and landlocked countries in Central Africa. Transit times, which previously reached 15 to 16 days, may be reduced to around five to six days through the site's integrated rail and logistics network.

Strengthening Access to the Central Corridor

Under the agreement, the DRC has been allocated approximately 45 hectares at the Kwala site to develop facilities for handling Congolese freight. The country also has access to a logistics site at Katosho, located in Kigoma on the Tanzanian shore of Lake Tanganyika, to facilitate trade with eastern Congo.

Through the project, Kinshasa is seeking to strengthen its access to the Central Corridor, improve freight management for the Congolese market and deepen economic cooperation with Tanzania. The project is part of the government's strategy to secure trade corridors, improve the flow of foreign trade and reduce logistics costs for Congolese importers and exporters.

The selection of a private partner to develop the infrastructure had been announced in 2025 by Deputy Prime Minister Bemba, who said at the time that the Congolese government was in the final stages of selecting an operator for the logistics sites at Kwala and Katosho.

Boston Developers Ltd, described as a company active in engineering, construction and infrastructure and real estate project development across several regions of the world, was ultimately selected to develop the Congolese dry port at Kwala.

Boaz Kabeya