Congo, the democratic republic of the Country Commercial Guide
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Democratic Republic of the Congo - Construction
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Overview

Infrastructure is one of the undeniable priorities of the GDRC.  Considerable efforts are being made to rehabilitate and modernize the country’s basic infrastructure to consolidate the DRC’s economic integration.  The GDRC aims to develop an integrated multimodal transport system by densifying the national road network and modernizing port, airport, and rail infrastructure and facilities.

The Tshisekedi administration declared 100 days of infrastructure in 2020, launching a $497 million program on construction.  In March 2021, President Tshisekedi officially launched the works of the great project “Tshilejelu,” oriented towards the development of infrastructure in the city-province of Kinshasa and some key cities and territories of the Great Kasai region, namely, Mbuji Mayi, Kabinda, Lusambo, Kananga, Mweneditu, and Tshikapa.  The international development banks are major funders for infrastructure in the DRC, as the country has needs in nearly every facet of public and private life.

Foreign firms dominate the construction sector in the DRC.  Chinese firms account for over half of all public works projects in the DRC, and a significant portion of private construction projects.  European construction firms are also major players in the DRC construction industry. 

Leading Sub-Sectors

  • Health care infrastructure
  • Road infrastructure
  • Electrical generation and transmission infrastructure
  • Water and sewage infrastructure
  • Lodging and
  • Educational infrastructure

Opportunities

This sector is fully liberalized and open to the private sector through the 2018 Public-Private Partnership (PPP) law, and infrastructure investments are also eligible under the provisions of the DRC’s investment code law.

In October 2021, the government of the DRC launched the 145 Territories Development Program.  With a budget of $1.6 billion mobilized by the central government and the country’s traditional partners, the so-called PDL-145 T focuses on four major areas of intervention, including basic infrastructure, agricultural service roads, revitalization of local economies, drinking water supply stations, strengthening of local governance, and development of an information sharing system.

There are numerous infrastructure construction opportunities for U.S. companies with capital and risk appetite:  building railroads, including the Banana-Matadi-Kinshasa-Ilebo railroad; upgrading the railroads of the Congolese National Railway Company and the National Office of Transportation; improving and equipping the maritime ports of Matadi and Boma; and modernizing the National Office of Transport’s ports nationwide.  These infrastructure projects are frequently structured as public-private partnerships; American and European firms face stiff competition from their Chinese counterparts, as Chinese companies often bring their own financing.  Projects are listed on the Ministry of Infrastructure and Public Works webpages.

Resources

The DRC office “Agence Congolaise des Grands Travaux (ACGT)” has the mission of designing and managing infrastructure projects in the sectors of Roads, Highways, Ports, Airports, Railways, Architecture, Energy, Telecommunication Infrastructure, and Environment.  More information on the construction sector in DRC can be obtained from Ministry of Infrastructure and Public Works and from 145 Territories Development Program https://pdl145.gouv.cd/.