- Works at the Maluku site are scheduled to start in early 2026
- Project includes a $12 billion Sino-Congolese industrial city
- A €133 million hospital complex will also be built under the plan
The Democratic Republic of Congo plans to begin construction work on the Kinshasa city expansion project in the first quarter of 2026. The timeline was confirmed on December 22, 2025, during the official groundbreaking ceremony led by President Félix-Antoine Tshisekedi Tshilombo at Maluku, on the eastern outskirts of the capital.
The ceremony marked the launch of two flagship components of the project: the Sino-Congolese Industrial City and the Infirmière Maman Marthe Kasalu hospital platform. According to the Strategic Supervisory Committee for the Kinshasa City Extension Project (CSSPEVK), the event formally initiated the project phase, with physical works expected to start in early 2026.
The Sino-Congolese Industrial City stems from a cooperation agreement signed in October 2025 between the Democratic Republic of Congo and the Sino-Congo Special Economic Development Zone (SCSZ) consortium. The project represents an estimated investment of about $12 billion.
It provides for the phased installation of 1,200 factories over a five-year period, structured into industrial parks averaging 20 factories each. The presidency said the industrial city is expected to create up to 225,000 direct jobs once fully operational, including 30,000 jobs in its first year of activity.
The Infirmière Maman Marthe Kasalu hospital platform is designed as a multidisciplinary medical complex with subregional reach, specializing in oncology and advanced medical care. The facility will cover a built-up area of 36,000 square meters within a 10-hectare site.
The project also includes the construction of a heliport to support medical evacuations and critical interventions. Implementation of the hospital infrastructure has been entrusted to the Belgian-Moroccan consortium IIDG/TGCC.
Financing for the hospital platform is being provided through a joint credit facility from France’s public investment bank Bpifrance and Germany’s Commerzbank, amounting to a total of €133 million.
Boaz Kabeya
