The government of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) has seen progress on an estimated 927km of strategic railway developments in recent weeks.

In early September, a joint delegation of experts from the EU and the US presented the results of the prefeasibility studies for the development of the DRC’s portion of the Lobito Corridor, a 1,300 km route stretching from Angola’s Atlantic Ocean Port of Lobito to mining regions in the DRC and Zambia.

The Lobito Corridor infrastructure encompasses the Benguela railway line, the Lobito port, and border facilities between Zambia and Angola, and Angola and the DRC.

The DRC’s portion of the Lobito corridor involves the 427km railway of the National Railway Society of the Congo (SNCC), which runs from the mining hub of Kolwezi to Dilolo on the border with Angola, and is currently in a pitiful state, according to the government.

The prefeasibility studies have enabled the estimation of the necessary investments as well as the completion timelines for the first phase of the project, namely the rehabilitation of the Dilolo-Kolwezi-Tenke railway line. The initial cost of this phase is estimated at more than US$410 million and the costs for managing and maintaining the line over a 10-year period are approximately $180 million.

A potential second phase that will extend the line to reach the border with Zambia has been estimated to require an investment of around US$1 billion-US$1.5 billion.

Several financial partners have expressed interest in supporting the project, including the European Investment Bank and World Bank.

La délégation conjointe d'experts de l'Union européenne et des États-Unis, impliquée dans le projet du Corridor de Lobito, a présenté ce mardi 9 septembre 2025, les résultats des études de préfaisabilité, lors d'une réunion présidée par le vice-Premier ministre, ministre des… pic.twitter.com/qqHIYbgepq

— Ministère des Transports RDC (@TransportsRDC) September 9, 2025

Earlier in September, President Felix- Tshisekedi presided over a ceremony relaunching the operations of the 350km Kinshasa-Matadi railway line.

Closed since February 2020, the 100-year-old line has been fully rehabilitated and is set to significantly contribute to increasing the National Transport Office’s (Onatra) operational capacity, efficiently evacuate a large portion of the 4 million tonnes a year of cargo received by the Port of Matadi and relieve congestion at the port, as well as streamline the movement of people and goods between Kinshasa and central DRC, while significantly reducing traffic on National Highway 1.

In addition, urban rail services are expected to begin on the 20km Central Station–N'Djili International airport route as well as the Central Station-Kitambo Magasin line.

Moreover, the transport ministry has launched a feasibility study for the construction of a 150km railway linking the proposed deepsea Port of Banana to the Matadi-Kinshasa railway line, extending the rail link to Banana via Boma. The aim is to develop a continuous Banana-Boma-Matadi-Kinshasa rail corridor, opening up new routes for the transport of people and goods, turning the DRC into a regional logistics hub.

In late March, UAE port operator DP World announced it had selected Portugal’s Mota-Engil to lead the construction of the Banana port. Located in the Kongo Central province along the Atlantic coast, the container port will be the country’s first deep seaport and fully-equipped maritime gateway. It will be developed in phases with an investment value of over US$1 billion.

Top photo: Relaunch of services on Matadi-Kinshasa railway (Source: Facebook @ DRC transport ministry)