The Democratic Republic of Congo has provisionally awarded a contract to KOTO to build and install a factory producing wall panels for rapid, low-cost housing construction in Kinshasa province, according to a decision signed by Rural Development Minister Grégoire Mutshail Mutomb on June 24, 2026.

The Lot 1 contract is worth $7.16 million, including taxes. It forms part of a broader project to install similar factories in Kasaï-Oriental and Lualaba provinces under a tender issued on Jan. 9, 2026.

KOTO also appears set to secure the two remaining lots. In a statement published on June 1, 2026, London-listed Red Rock Resources said its joint venture partner, KOTO DRC, had received a no-objection notice from the General Directorate for Public Procurement for a provisional award worth $21.5 million, likely covering all three lots.

TUSEKU Project

Red Rock said the project is linked to a 50-50 joint venture established with KOTO DRC in November 2024 to develop a low-cost housing program in the Democratic Republic of Congo. The British company also said an agreement had been signed with the Ministry of Rural and Peri-Urban Development in October 2025 before the consortium participated in the 2026 tender.

According to a document published by Red Rock, KOTO DRC and the Ministry of Rural Development are already working together on the TUSEKU project, described as a program to establish and operate factories producing wall panels and roof tiles for the rapid construction of affordable housing.

The document identifies Red Rock as the financial partner of KOTO DRC. The Congolese company, led by Patrick Tuseku Tshianu, is implementing the project in partnership with the Ministry of Rural Development.

The project calls for the purchase, installation and operation of factories producing EBS-ICF wall panels and roof tiles. The facilities are intended to support local production of construction materials and speed up housing development.

Promise of Rapid Construction

The project document estimates the cost of purchasing, shipping, delivering and assembling a package that includes a wall panel factory, a roof tile factory, production equipment and the construction of pilot homes at $7 million. That estimate is close to the provisional contract value awarded to KOTO for the Kinshasa lot.

According to the project documents, the technology could reduce construction costs. For a standard 42.6-square-meter home, the proposal estimates the cost of conventional construction in Kinshasa at $31,950, compared with $14,830 in other provinces using KOTO’s technology. It notes, however, that the latter figure could be revised if materials were purchased in Malaysia and shipping costs were included.

The proposal also projects construction times of seven days for a 60-square-meter house, 14 days for a 100-square-meter home and 21 days for a two-story, 160-square-meter house. Project promoters also say homes built using the technology have a lifespan of more than 100 years.

The documents provide differing estimates of annual production capacity. The project proposal refers, depending on the section, to 3,000 or 3,600 homes per year, while Red Rock says each factory could produce between 3,300 and 5,000 homes annually.

A Public-Private Model

The business model goes beyond supplying equipment. Under the proposal, completed homes would be transferred to the Ministry of Rural Development for sale to the public at what is described as an affordable price.

The proposal also outlines a profit-sharing arrangement, with 40% allocated to KOTO DRC and 60% to the Ministry of Rural Development.

KOTO DRC would operate the factories for 20 years, including maintaining the facilities and protecting the intellectual property associated with the technology. At the end of that period, management would be transferred to the Congolese government through the Ministry of Rural Development.

In its statement, Red Rock Chairman Andrew Bell said the ministry had decided to move the project forward by financing the first factories. The Jan. 9 tender notice also states that the construction and installation of the three wall panel factories will be funded through the central government’s budget.

Red Rock also said KOTO could now secure financing, order the equipment and begin selling homes before the end of 2026.

Timothée Manoke