Rehabilitation and modernisation of Port of Kalemie located on the west shore of Lake Tanganyika, north of Katanga province in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), is to be undertaken by China Gezhouba Group Company (CGGC) Limited, a Chinese construction, and engineering company based in Wuhan, Hubei.
This is after the Chinese company signed with the government of the Central African country, represented by the Minister of Industry, Julien Paluku, and Patrice Kitebi, the Managing Director of Industry Promotion Fund (Fonds de Promotion de l’Industrie, FPI), a contract worth US$ 127M for the implementation of the project on Thursday the 1st day of April this year.
The FPI is a public administrative and financial establishment aimed at helping the industrial sector to develop itself within the DRC.
The objective of the project
The objective of the Rehabilitation and modernisation of Port of Kalemie according to the Managing Director of FPI, “is to increase the export capacity from the current 1,500 tonnes per year to 15,000 tonnes over the same period.” This he said “will be achieved by facilitating the berthing of barges and large-tonnage ships,”
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The contract also includes the rehabilitation of the military annex of the port and the construction of an administrative building for the provincial leadership of FPI.
Expectations for the renovated port of Kalemie
Once renovated, the port of Kalemie is expected to boost economic exchanges between the DRC and East Africa where it connects the DRC with the ports of Bujumbura (Burundi), Mpulungu (Zambia), and Kigoma (Tanzania).
It will also play an essential role in opening up the neighboring provinces such as Maniema, Grand Kasai, North and South Kivu, Haut-Lomami, Lualaba, and Haut-Katanga, and contribute to the viability of the special economic zones of Katanga and Kasai, according to the Ministry of Industry.
