Kinshasa soon to have new urban railway

13 November 2009

Belgium and the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) signed an agreement this week for the upgrading of the Kinshasa urban railway system.

The aim of the project is to improve mobility across the capital and in the outlying districts.

The total cost of the work is estimated at 10.4 million Dollars, financed by Belgium, and will be spread over four years.

This amount includes logistics support, the acquisition of new carriages and locomotive, and the refurbishment of buildings.

Congolese Minister of Transport and Means of Communication, Matthieu Pita, thanked the Belgian Government for this grant, according to the daily Le Potential.

He added: “The present urban railway is the embryo of a high-capacity mass transit system of tomorrow, and it is around this axis that bus transport services will also be organized.”

This aid follows the granting of a credit by the Indian Government of 263 million US Dollars to the DRC for the construction of a hydroelectric dam. <br/>