Addressing participants at the summit, held under the slogan “Connecting markets, people and opportunities,” which is taking place from 28 to 30 September 2026, the Congolese official stressed the country’s iron reserves to justify a local value chain, from the deposit to the laid rail.
A call to investors
Jean-Pierre Bemba explained that he is seeking a consortium of companies that would not limit itself to exporting Congolese iron ore, but would transform it into steel and then into rails. He reaffirmed Kinshasa’s openness to strategic partnerships and its willingness to facilitate investment in this project.
According to the source, the Congolese presentation highlighted the national mining potential as support for the connectivity of transport infrastructure in the Southern African Development Community (SADC) area.
A regional opening-up challenge
The proposal comes in a context where the development of rail and multimodal networks continues to be presented as a lever to open up the economies of Southern and Central Africa, while adding value to local mining resources on site.
For the DRC, whose transport infrastructure is among the main obstacles to the evacuation of minerals, the challenge goes beyond the mere supply of rails: it concerns the local processing of iron, the creation of an African steel industry and reducing dependence on imports of steel and railway equipment. The Luanda summit brings together policymakers, experts and investors around cross-border logistics projects in SADC.
ACP – M&B
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