News (788)
DRC, South Africa Sign Industrial Co-Financing Agreement Targeting Green Hydrogen, Critical Minerals
DRC’s Fonds de Promotion de l'Industrie (FPI) and South Africa's Industrial Development Corporation (IDC) signed a memorandum of understanding on Feb. 12, 2026, to support industrialization in the Democratic Republic of Congo, focusing on capital mobilization and project co-financing.
The agreement was signed in the presence of South Africa’s Minister of Trade, Industry and Competition, Parks Tau. Under the deal, the IDC will deploy investment capital to support FPI initiatives and facilitate co-investments across a portfolio of projects, particularly in infrastructure.
The two institutions also plan to work together on a long-term sustainable growth strategy in selected industrial sectors. The FPI has set a fundraising target of at least $100 million as a baseline to strengthen its role in industrial and economic development. The broader agreement aims to establish co-financing mechanisms between the two development finance institutions.
FPI Director General Hervé Claude Ntumba Batukonke said closer cooperation between national development finance institutions could improve risk-sharing and help finance large-scale structural projects.
IDC Chief Executive Mmakgoshi Lekhethe said the partnership could increase co-investments in strategic sectors, including green hydrogen, critical minerals, the electric vehicle value chain, advanced manufacturing, and high-value agriculture and agro-processing.
Founded in 1940, the IDC is a South African public development finance institution that supports industrialization by providing funding and technical support to companies and projects.
Ronsard Luabeya
Power requirements for Asia Minerals Limited’s manganese project in Luozi, Kongo Central province, are projected to exceed 300 megawatts (MW), company officials said on November 26 at the Makutano Forum.
Fely Samuna, managing director of Kerith Resources, the Congolese partner of the Japanese multinational, said the total demand would comprise around 120 MW for mining operations and nearly 200 MW for in-country processing, in line with the government’s push to boost value addition and local employment.
Demand is not expected before just over three years. “Exploration will take three years, and mine development will start after that,” Samuna said, asking whether the country would be able to meet the project’s power needs.
Aimé Molendo Sakombi, Minister of Hydraulic Resources and Electricity, said the project area includes hydroelectric sites capable of supplying the operations, notably the Mpioka site on the Inkisi River. Jean-Pierre Mukadi Kalombo, coordinator of the Energy Ministry’s Project Coordination and Management Unit, said Mpioka has an estimated capacity of about 6,000 MW.
He said the site could help supply Kinshasa, including as the city expands, as well as meet rising demand from the mining sector. Feasibility studies are scheduled to begin next year to provide the government with the technical data required for the next phase of the project.
Samuna also questioned the competitiveness of electricity tariffs in the Democratic Republic of Congo. He noted that the group’s Malaysian smelter, Pertama Ferroalloys, commissioned in 2016, operates under a power purchase agreement at roughly $0.04 per kilowatt-hour. He asked whether lower tariffs could be offered in the DRC to ensure the competitiveness of local operations and encourage on-site processing.
Bob Mabiala Mvumbi, managing director of the Agency for the Development and Promotion of the Grand Inga Project (ADPI), said discussions on a future PPA were possible. “You will set a price and we will discuss it,” he said, adding that ADPI is working to secure firm demand for Inga 3, whose installed capacity is projected at between 3,000 MW and 11,000 MW.
However, the economics remain challenging. The National Electricity Company (SNEL) says the average tariff of $0.17 per kilowatt-hour is below cost and is seeking an increase. By comparison, mini-grid operators charge between $0.25 and $0.70 per kilowatt-hour.
Timothée Manoke
The Manono lithium project will require nearly $1 billion in investment, according to Alpha Monga Mwidia, chief executive of state-owned Congolaise d'exploitation minière (Cominière), in a Reuters interview at the Mining Indaba conference in Cape Town, South Africa, which concluded on February 12, 2026.
Cominière partnered with Chinese group Zijin Mining to form the Manono Lithium joint venture, which is developing the northeastern section of the Manono lithium deposit in Tanganyika province, southeastern Democratic Republic of Congo. The project holds an estimated 6.47 million tonnes of lithium carbonate equivalent, with an average grade of 1.5% lithium oxide, making it one of the world's largest lithium deposits.
Zijin Mining is financing the entire investment, according to Alpha Monga Mwidia. However, updated figures show the Chinese group now holds 54.9% of the project, down from its initial 61% stake. The reasons for this ownership change remain unexplained.
Production timeline revised
While the investment breakdown has not been disclosed, Zijin describes the project as encompassing mine construction, a concentration unit, a conversion plant with calcination kiln, and logistics facilities. The operation is designed to extract and process 5 million tonnes of ore annually and convert 500,000 tonnes of spodumene concentrate into 95,170 tonnes of crude lithium sulfate per year.
"The mining, processing and conversion projects, as well as the logistics facilities and river diversion works are progressing on schedule, with commissioning planned for June 30, 2026," Zijin stated, noting that the accommodation camp and Phase I solar plant are already operational. This represents a three-month delay from the company's early 2025 projection of first-quarter production, though no explanation was provided.
The Mpiana-Mwanga hydroelectric plant rehabilitation was completed in 2024 by Katamba Mining (70% owned by Zijin and 30% by Cominière), boosting capacity to 40 MW. A planned expansion will add another 108 MW.
Export logistics
Lithium sulfate will be transported along the 440-kilometer Manono-Kalemie road to the industrial port of Kalemie, then shipped via Kigoma to Dar es Salaam, Tanzania.
Road construction began in October 2024 under a public-private partnership with Chinese company Phaepon Construction and is scheduled for completion in five years. The first phase will create a passable dirt road before paving begins.
This phase "is almost complete and we hope to have lithium production by June 2026," Tanganyika Governor Christian Kitungwa Muteba said in a promotional video for Expobeton's 11th edition, a trade fair focused on urban development and special economic zones, scheduled for May 27-30, 2026, in Kalemie.
Market headwinds
The Kalemie industrial port is also under construction through a partnership with Jintai Mining PTE Ltd and Tembo Majengo Company SARL, with the first phase (requiring an estimated $70 million) expected to be operational by late 2026.
Given its investment, Zijin will market all production and share revenues proportionally with its stake in the joint venture after deducting production costs, according to the Cominière chief executive.
The project appears undeterred by the oversupplied global lithium market, driven largely by Chinese production, which has depressed prices significantly. Spodumene prices have plummeted more than 80% from their 2022 peak, dropping from over $80,000 per tonne to around $10,000 in 2025.
Pierre Mukoko
CrossBoundary Energy DRC received regulatory approval from the Electricity Sector Regulatory Authority (ARE) on Feb. 11, 2026, for its solar power project at the Kamoa-Kakula copper complex in Lualaba province. The clearance follows a similar approval granted to Green World Énergie in January.
ARE issued two rulings covering independent power generation and electricity sales, clearing the way for the Energy Minister to issue generation and sales licences.
The project involves installing 233.8 MWp of solar capacity across more than 400,000 photovoltaic panels. Combined with battery storage, the plant will supply 30 MW of baseload power to Kamoa Copper under a power purchase agreement signed in 2025. Construction was 42% complete as of late October 2025, with commercial operations expected in the second quarter of 2026.
ARE said the project will create about 900 temporary construction jobs and 22 permanent positions. The plant is expected to cut carbon emissions by 78,750 tonnes annually by reducing reliance on diesel generation.
The project mirrors a similar development by Green World Énergie, approved on Jan. 27, 2026. Together, the two plants are set to provide 60 MW of continuous power to Kamoa-Kakula, reinforcing the site’s supply of reliable renewable energy as part of efforts to decarbonise the DRC’s mining sector.
Boaz Kabeya
The Democratic Republic of Congo's postal and telecommunications regulator has accused South African telecoms group MTN of illegally providing mobile phone and internet services in the country, including in rebel-held areas such as Goma and Rutshuru, without holding an operating license.
In a statement dated Feb. 11, 2026, the regulator known as ARPTC said it had "well-documented" evidence and had referred the matter to unspecified national and international bodies, vowing to use "all legal means" to uphold the law and protect digital sovereignty.
The statement followed a meeting convened the previous day by Prime Minister Judith Suminwa Tuluka on "digital intrusion and the illegal use of Congolese frequencies by a foreign operator." At the meeting, ARPTC was instructed to immediately take over the technical handling of the case and to refer it to relevant international bodies, under a zero-tolerance policy toward any violation of digital sovereignty.
MTN operates in several countries on the DRC's eastern border. The Rutshuru territory, for example, shares borders with both Uganda and Rwanda, where the South African multinational is present. But after the meeting with the prime minister, Posts and Telecommunications Minister José Mpanda singled out MTN Rwanda specifically, making the issue even more sensitive given that relations between Kinshasa and Kigali are at a low point due to the security crisis in the country's east.
Border Interference or Equipment Installation?
Based on the ARPTC statement, several industry players favor the hypothesis of cross-border spillover, which is common in border areas. It is "difficult to prevent networks from crossing the border," and in such cases "the two regulators must sit down with operators from both countries to find a technical solution," one source said. This interpretation draws on regional precedents where technical solutions were reportedly found without media exposure.
But accounts reported by the Congolese press and corroborated by several local sources point to a potentially more sensitive scenario. In central Rutshuru, equipment attributed to MTN Rwanda has reportedly been installed on antennas in the Murambi neighborhood, allowing the Rwandan network to cover part of Congolese territory and effectively provide services there. In the same accounts, residents indicate that MTN SIM cards are now being sold in central Rutshuru and in Kiwanja, and are being used to maintain internet connectivity that has become unstable.
If confirmed, the characterization changes. This would no longer be simply a case of "interference" or a signal picked up from across the border, but rather a possible technical and commercial presence on Congolese soil, which would strengthen ARPTC's argument about the absence of an operating license.
Internet Disruptions as Context
The technical context also plays a role. On Jan. 26, 2026, Vodacom Congo (DRC) said in a statement that it had suffered an intrusion at its technical center in Goma (North Kivu), resulting in a loss of network supervision and control "in that area."
For several months, Congolese authorities have also been warning about the deteriorating quality of telecommunications services. According to several accounts, cities in the east of the country under the control of the AFC/M23 rebels or affected by insecurity have been particularly impacted. Authorities have blamed the disruptions on outages of the WACS undersea cable, pushing users to seek alternative solutions, including foreign networks, particularly in border territories such as Rutshuru.
At this stage, the challenge is to distinguish between scenarios that do not carry the same regulatory consequences: simple cross-border coverage spillover, roaming or technical agreements, or the installation of equipment and sale of SIM cards in the DRC. ARPTC's statement does not detail the technical mechanism or evidence, and MTN has not yet officially responded.
Between assertions of digital sovereignty and the technical realities of border networks, the case will likely hinge on concrete technical evidence: verification of equipment, frequency tracing, clarification of any technical agreements and, above all, establishing whether there is actual operation on Congolese territory.
Pierre Mukoko
DRC Gold Trading S.A., a state-owned company specializing in the purchase, trading and export of artisanal gold, announced on Feb. 10, 2026 that it has opened a branch in Lubumbashi, marking its entry into Haut-Katanga province.
The move aims to bring artisanal gold production from the province into official channels. A few days after opening the Lubumbashi office, the company collected and exported its first batch of more than 20 kilograms of artisanal gold from Haut-Katanga through formal traceability procedures. At the 2025 average gold price, the shipment is worth more than $2 million.
Haut-Katanga, long dominated by copper and cobalt production, has also seen artisanal gold mining activity in the town of Kilolo, in Kipushi territory. However, this output has not been reflected in official export statistics, with most production reportedly leaving the country through illicit channels.
A 2024 United Nations report described artisanal gold mining in the area as extensive, pointing to significant production circulating outside formal supply chains. The opening of a purchasing office is intended to integrate this output into a regulated traceability and export framework.
In the same statement, DRC Gold Trading said it had also opened a second purchasing office in Haut-Uele province, in the mining town of Durba, after initially establishing operations there in 2025. During the first half of 2025, the company exported 12,511 kilograms of gold from that branch.
The Durba office has strong supply potential. According to a Dec. 8, 2025 report by the International Peace Information Service (IPIS), researchers identified nearly 5,500 artisanal miners operating across 18 gold sites around Durba.
The expansion into Haut-Katanga and Haut-Uele forms part of the company’s plan to operate ten sites nationwide, targeting annual volumes of 15 to 18 tonnes of artisanal gold and more than $2.6 billion in export revenue. Two additional branches are planned for 2026 in Kinshasa and Mbuji-Mayi.
According to the World Gold Council, the average annual gold price rose 44% to $110,280 per kilogram in 2025, driven by strong demand and a geopolitical and financial environment supportive of the precious metal. The upward trend is expected to continue in 2026. Gold traded above $160,000 per kilogram in January, while Deutsche Bank, UBS and JP Morgan project prices could exceed $190,000 per kilogram by year-end.
Timothée Manoke
Eurasian Resources Group (ERG) has signed a memorandum of understanding with the state-owned cobalt company Entreprise générale du cobalt (EGC) to formalise and better manage artisanal mining in Lualaba province, where its concessions have repeatedly been entered by informal miners.
The agreement was signed on February 10, 2026, on the sidelines of the Mining Indaba, a major African industry event held in Cape Town. Mines Minister Louis Watum Kabamba presided over the ceremony.
The deal launches a pilot project aimed at structuring artisanal mining within a defined framework. It provides for the creation of a regulated artisanal mining zone on an ERG concession, measures to improve safety and working conditions, and the introduction of traceability systems aligned with OECD due diligence standards. The initiative also seeks to ease tensions between industrial operators and artisanal miners, safeguard the rights and investments of both parties, and bring artisanal mining into a recognised legal framework benefiting local communities.
ERG said the initiative is not intended to feed its industrial output and that none of its production will come from artisanal sources. Instead, the company presented the move as support for formalisation efforts amid mounting pressure from informal mining on its concessions.
The agreement comes as industry players have warned about the scale of incursions onto mining sites. According to the Federation of Businesses of the Congo(FEC), such intrusions have caused losses estimated at nearly $3 billion for ERG. Since 2024, site invasions have been reported on concessions operated by several of the group’s subsidiaries, including Congolaise des mines et de développement (COMIDE) and Boss Mining. In a 2025 statement, Boss Mining said more than 200 trucks were entering its sites daily, carrying copper and cobalt shipments valued at around $1.8 million.
The Ministry of Mines described the agreement as a joint effort to balance the economic, social and environmental challenges facing the Congolese mining sector.
Under pressure from growing artisanal activity within industrial concessions, the mines minister announced in November 2025 the designation of 64 artisanal mining zones (ZEA). He said the decrees establishing the zones had been signed and that implementation would proceed in coordination with EGC. Since then, however, little detail has been provided on progress.
Ronsard Luabeya
Premium Visa cardholders in the Democratic Republic of Congo saw a sharp increase in international travel spending and high-end retail purchases in December 2025, according to a Feb. 10, 2026 statement from Visa.
Data from the Visa Consulting & Analytics Retail Spend Monitor, based on a subset of VisaNet transactions and supplemented by estimates for other payment methods, showed that international travel spending by premium Visa cardholders rose more than 45% year-on-year during the holiday period from Dec. 1 to Dec. 31, 2025.
Spending in the DRC by international Visa cardholders, both premium and non-premium, also increased. Visitors from the United Arab Emirates, Zambia, the Czech Republic and Portugal were among the fastest-growing segments, with spending rising more than 75%.
Among Congolese premium Visa cardholders, international travel spending rose 45%. Spending on travel to destinations including France, China, Morocco and the United States increased by about 85%.
Luxury retail also recorded strong growth. Spending on clothing and jewelry abroad by premium Visa cardholders rose more than 55% during the holiday period.
Sophie Kafuti, Visa Cluster Head DRC, said the results reflect changing consumer behavior during the holidays. She said the company aims to support these trends by offering “secure, seamless and innovative payment solutions for consumers and businesses.”
In the DRC, Visa has expanded its local presence through partnerships with commercial banks and fintechs. In September 2025, it launched VisaPay, an application designed to facilitate digital payments for consumers and improve everyday payment transactions.
Ronsard Luabeya
The price of gray cement has risen sharply in Mbuji-Mayi, the capital of DRC's Kasai Oriental province. According to local sources, a 50-kilogram bag has been selling for between $30 and $32 since last weekend, nearly double the price in Kinshasa and Haut-Katanga. The range represents an increase of 20% to 28% from the $25 seen a week earlier.
According to the same sources, the increase stems from tight supply on the local market following disruptions, particularly after the collapse of the Katongoka bridge in Haut-Lomami province on a route used to transport cement to Kasai Oriental. Reduced deliveries have led several warehouses in the city to run out of stock.
The cement market had faced supply pressures before. In June 2025, the price per bag rose from $24 to $27 in Mbuji-Mayi, linked to warehouse shortages and sustained demand from construction companies operating in the province.
At that time, the Federation of Congolese Enterprises (FEC) cited logistical constraints, including disruptions to freight shipments from Greater Katanga due to limited availability of wagons from the National Railway Company of Congo (SNCC).
Under construction since August 2024, the Katanda cement plant is expected to help stabilize prices in the province. With an annual capacity of 300,000 tons, expandable to 1.2 million tons, the plant was scheduled to begin production in February 2026. But according to information gathered locally, that has not yet happened.
Boaz Kabey
Work to rehabilitate a 65-km section of National Highway 18 (RN18) in Kwilu province began on February 9, 2026, covering the stretch between Petit-Kasaï and Bulungu, as well as a secondary road serving the Vanga Catholic mission.
The project is part of the Sino-Congolese cooperation programme implemented by the Société d’Infrastructures Sino-Congolaise (SISC) and financed by Sino-Congolaise des Mines (Sicomines). It includes strengthening the road surface, installing drainage ditches and systems, and repairing and reinforcing structures such as bridges and culverts to ensure year-round trafficability and improve safety.
Sinohydro 14, a subcontractor to SISC, is carrying out the works under the supervision of the Congolese Agency for Major Works (ACGT). The start of construction follows a site assessment conducted in June 2025 by ACGT engineers to gather technical data.
The rehabilitation comes amid concerns over the deteriorating state of the road and erosion risks around Bulungu, which threatened to render sections impassable, isolate villages and hinder access to essential services, particularly healthcare and education.
In April 2025, elected officials from Bulungu had already alerted the Office of Roads to the degradation of several segments, notably the 5-km Kimbulu stretch leading to the Vanga referral hospital in Kilunda sector. In a letter signed by Serge Maseka Ndombe, vice-president of the Kwilu Provincial Assembly, provincial deputies requested financial and logistical support to maintain or rehabilitate the section, citing the need to facilitate patient access and support local socio-economic activity.
The letter underscored the strategic importance of the road for evacuating agricultural produce and maintaining access to basic services in Bulungu territory. RN18 connects National Highway 1 (RN1) to remote rural communities, serving as a key corridor for the movement of people, goods and farm output to regional markets.
Boaz Kabeya
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The Butembo copper project, located in the insecure eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, has been acquired by African Discovery Group (AFDG). The U.S.-traded company said it signed a definitive share purchase agreement with Grabin Mining SAS, which holds the permit covering the project.
AFDG said the deal was structured as a reverse takeover, a mechanism that allows a listed company to bring an unlisted asset onto the market, typically by issuing shares to the asset’s owners. The company said shares were issued to the permit holders and that the mining interest is now owned by the U.S.-domiciled entity.
In effect, the Butembo project now sits within the structure of the U.S.-listed issuer, with the former asset holders becoming shareholders. The transaction remains subject to regulatory approval, including in the DRC.
A company listed on a lightly regulated market
AFDG trades on the U.S. OTC market, a less regulated segment than major exchanges such as the NYSE or Nasdaq. Public filings show the company has shifted strategy in the past before pivoting toward metals.
The group also announced a name change and now operates as Copper Intelligence. It describes itself as the first independent DRC-focused company listed in the United States and positions itself as a vehicle dedicated to acquiring and exploring copper assets in the country.
The new management team is led by Andrew Groves, presented as the founder of several African mining companies, including Camec, African Platinum and Central African Gold, all reportedly sold. The team also includes Aldo Cesano, who cites 40 years of experience in mining and logistics development in the DRC, Zimbabwe and southern Africa.
An asset described as prospective
Copper Intelligence describes Butembo as a near-surface exploration target with a low strip ratio. The project lies about 50 kilometers from the Ugandan border, near the Kilembe mine, which has verified reserves of around 4 million tonnes. The company highlights high-grade samples of up to 18% copper and says it has access to rail infrastructure.
However, there is no evidence of a mineral resource estimate compliant with international reporting standards, nor of a declared mineral reserve. The statement does not outline a detailed technical program, such as drilling plans, timelines or budget, required to assess the project at an industrial scale.
Bringing Butembo under a U.S.-listed structure could improve visibility and potentially ease access to funding for exploration. It also increases exposure to reporting requirements and investor scrutiny, even if OTC standards are lighter than those of major exchanges.
“We are delighted to hold this status as a dedicated US company operating in Africa, aggregating assets in the DRC's highest grade copper deposits in the world,” Copper Intelligence President Andrew Groves said.
The key challenge will now be technical: converting a prospective asset into a defined and financeable project supported by independent data capable of underpinning an economic assessment.
Pierre Mukoko & Ronsard Luabeya
Commodities trader Mercuria announced on Feb. 9, 2026, "the completion of its first copper and cobalt transaction" with Entreprise Générale du Cobalt (EGC). The statement did not specify whether the deal involved a direct purchase, an offtake contract, or a marketing mandate.
The announcement indicated simply that the transaction involves its first export shipment of copper and cobalt, without disclosing volumes. "The copper cathodes are intended for shipment to either the United States of America, the United Arab Emirates or Saudi Arabia," the statement said, positioning the operation as an extension of the joint venture between Gécamines, EGC's sole shareholder, and Mercuria, announced in late 2025 and dedicated to trading critical minerals.
In November 2019, EGC was mandated to develop a responsible artisanal cobalt value chain in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) by organizing and regulating artisanal and small-scale mining. In this capacity, the company holds a monopoly on the purchase, processing, refining, sale, and export of cobalt extracted by artisanal miners or artisanal mining companies in the country.
Strengthened by Export Quotas
This position was also strengthened by the cobalt export quota policy that took effect in the DRC on Oct. 16. Under this policy, EGC was allocated the fifth-largest export quota: 1,775 metric tons for 2025, and 5,640 metric tons for 2026 and 2027, subject to possible adjustments based on global market developments by the end of 2026 or prospects for local processing of cobalt hydroxide into higher-value products. Problems with the new export system in 2025 led to the rollover of that year's quotas into 2026. In total, EGC could export up to 7,415 metric tons of cobalt in 2026.
On Nov. 13 in Kolwezi, EGC presented its first production of 1,000 metric tons of artisanal cobalt, described as structured, ethical, and traceable. The copper cathodes mentioned in the transaction announced by Mercuria were reportedly produced from copper residues recovered after processing artisanal cobalt.
Also on Feb. 9, 2026, EGC and Trafigura, another commodities trader, announced they had agreed to "the first delivery of copper and cobalt to global markets via the Lobito Atlantic Railway (LAR)," without specifying either the quantity or the date. According to Franck Rogozin, Trafigura's head of metals and minerals for Africa, the aim is to "collaborate with EGC to facilitate the transport of copper and cobalt from responsible sources to global markets via the most efficient transport route from the DRC's Copperbelt."
Implementing the Partnership with the United States
Alongside Vecturis and Mota-Engil, Trafigura is a member of the LAR consortium, which has held since July 2022 a 30-year concession to operate and modernize the Angolan section of the Lobito corridor, 1,300 kilometers between the deep-water port of Lobito on Angola's Atlantic coast and the DRC border at Luau. In theory, this is the shortest route for exporting mining products from Kolwezi. But the roughly 450-kilometer Kolwezi-Luau line is in poor condition.
According to EGC's director general, Eric Kalala, the first copper shipment will go to U.S.-based customers, marking a tangible step in implementing the strategic partnership signed on Dec. 4 between Washington and Kinshasa in the critical minerals sector.
Under that agreement, Congolese state-owned companies must prioritize the U.S. market for their mining exports. The agreement also stipulates that over the next five years, 50% of copper, 30% of cobalt, and 90% of zinc marketed by these companies will transit through the Lobito corridor.
EGC and Trafigura have had a commercial agreement in place since 2020. The partnership provides financing to EGC to fulfill its mandate, in exchange for a portion of its cobalt hydroxide production. The companies have not disclosed the terms of the agreement. But in June 2022, in an open letter to the prime minister, a group of civil society organizations claimed the partnership involved financing of around $80 million for 50% of production, without further details.
Pierre Mukoko & Ronsard Luabeya
Finance ministers from the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and the Republic of Congo are set to sign a bilateral agreement on Feb. 12, 2026, establishing a special tax regime for the construction and operation of the Kinshasa-Brazzaville road-rail bridge.
The announcement followed technical meetings in Kinshasa held to finalise the documents. The project was officially launched on Feb. 3 by Jean-Claude Mido Mbuete, deputy director-general of the Congolese Agency for Major Works (ACGT), and was described as a key step toward implementation.
“Today we have a harmonised tax and customs framework for this project. We also have a bilateral agreement establishing that framework, which will allow us to relaunch the call for tenders for the Congo River road-rail bridge between Brazzaville and Kinshasa in the coming days,” said Caddy Elisabeth Ndala, head of the Brazzaville delegation, after the meetings.
The absence of a dedicated tax regime had delayed the selection of a concessionaire. The signing of the bilateral agreement is expected to restart the process.
According to Congolese authorities in Brazzaville, the tender had initially been scheduled for June, followed by the selection of a partner in September 2025 and the opening of negotiations with the chosen concessionaire to reach financial close. Authorities on both sides of the river had said construction would be officially launched before the end of the year.
A project valued at more than $700 million
“Technical assessments put the cost of the project at around $700 million. This should be seen as a first phase, as additional components are expected to be added over time,” Alexis Gisaro, then DRC minister of Infrastructure and Public Works, said in January last year. In 2017, the African Development Bank (AfDB) estimated the cost of the project at $550 million.
The road-rail bridge, designed to link the two closest capital cities in the world, is among the major infrastructure projects aimed at boosting regional integration under the New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD). It is also a strategic link along the Tripoli–Windhoek transport corridor, which runs through Chad, Cameroon, the two Congos and Angola.
Project coordination and implementation have been assigned to the Economic Community of Central African States (ECCAS). Feasibility studies have already been completed and were financed by the AfDB and the two Congolese states.
First proposed in the 1990s under former Zaire president Mobutu Sese Seko, the project involves the construction of a 1,575-metre toll bridge across the Congo River. It will include a railway line, a roadway with pedestrian access and a border control post on each bank.
Once completed, the bridge is expected to ease mobility and trade between the two cities, which are currently linked only by river transport. Annual passenger traffic is projected to rise from 750,000 to more than 3 million, while freight volumes are expected to increase from 340,000 to nearly 2 million tonnes.
Boaz Kabeya
The Kinsuka hydroelectric power plant project, developed by the Kinsuka Power joint venture between Great Lakes Energy, owned by entrepreneur Yves Kabongo, and Forrest Group subsidiary Congo Énergie, has secured all required regulatory approvals for electricity generation. The announcement was made by Minister of Hydraulic Resources and Electricity Aimé Molendo Sakombi during a briefing at the Council of Ministers meeting on February 6, 2026.
The minister, however, called for government backing to facilitate the final steps needed to move the project into construction, without elaborating. These may include site preparation, financial close, or tax exemptions for the import of machinery and equipment. Total investment in the project is estimated at around $2.8 billion, with construction expected to take five years.
The project involves the construction of a hydroelectric power plant on Kwidi Island in Kongo Central province. Feasibility studies conducted by Tractebel and validated in 2018 provide for the installation of 12 turbines, each with a capacity of 75 MW, for total installed capacity of 900 MW and average annual output estimated at 7,450 GWh.
Of the electricity generated, around 600 MW is expected to be supplied to mining companies via new high-voltage transmission lines to be developed by Great Lakes Energy, while the remaining 300 MW will be allocated to supply Kinshasa.
According to the minister, the project is intended to address several of the country’s structural challenges. It aims to reduce Kinshasa’s chronic power deficit by improving electricity availability and reliability for households, public services, and economic activity, strengthen national energy security by expanding generation capacity from a renewable and competitive source, and support the objectives of the DRC Energy Compact by accelerating electricity access and economic growth.
Ronsard Luabeya