A series of commercial infrastructure projects in South Kivu will resume after construction was cleared to restart on June 24, 2026, in Kinshasa during the sixth regular meeting of the Interministerial Steering Committee for the Great Lakes Trade Facilitation and Integration Project. The meeting was chaired by Foreign Trade Minister Julien Paluku Kahongya.

According to the Ministry of Foreign Trade, construction is resuming after being halted for several months because of insecurity linked to the conflict in the Uvira area. Improving security conditions and progress on the ground prompted the World Bank to lift the suspension of the projects, the ministry said.

With financing secured, work will resume on several major infrastructure projects, including the rehabilitation of Kalundu Lake Port, the construction of border posts at Kavimvira, Sange and Luvungi, and the construction of the Kavimvira cross-border market between the Democratic Republic of Congo and Burundi.

The projects are part of the World Bank-financed Great Lakes Trade Facilitation and Integration Project. The program aims to modernize trade infrastructure, facilitate cross-border trade and strengthen regional value chains, with particular attention to small-scale traders and women engaged in cross-border commerce.

Economic Corridors

The interministerial committee also approved a revised 2026 budget of $17.5 million and endorsed measures to strengthen the project’s governance and speed up implementation.

The committee also approved extending the Great Lakes Trade Facilitation and Integration Project to the Lobito and Banana corridors as part of a broader strategy to develop trade and industrial corridors. The move is intended to expand the project’s impact beyond the border posts already covered by integrating it into a wider strategy for trade facilitation and regional economic development.

Projects located in occupied areas will remain part of the project, but work will begin only once security conditions permit, the ministry said.

The committee also recommended that the World Bank include a green corridor project in the Greater Équateur region and support the construction of one-stop border posts equipped with digital systems in Haut-Uele province.

Cross-border Trade

During the meeting, Paluku called for implementing the simplified trade regime between the Democratic Republic of Congo and Burundi, with Uganda expected to follow. The mechanism is intended to make cross-border trade easier for small-scale traders and communities living along the borders.

The Great Lakes Trade Facilitation and Integration Project is financed with $250 million from the World Bank, allocated to the Democratic Republic of Congo, Burundi and COMESA. The funding includes $152 million for the Democratic Republic of Congo, $90 million for Burundi and $8 million for COMESA.

The project forms part of broader regional efforts to improve border infrastructure, reduce barriers to trade and strengthen economic integration across the Great Lakes region.

Ronsard Luabeya