The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) has expressed commitment to take part in East Africa’s ambitious Standard Gauge Railway (SGR) project.
The trans-African railway line project aims at connecting the Indian and Atlantic Oceans hence improving regional connectivity and trade.
During the DRC-Uganda Joint Permanent Commission (JPC) meetings in Kinshasa this past weekend, it was agreed that Uganda would invite DRC to attend the next Northern Corridor Infrastructure Projects of SGR Cluster meeting.
According to resolutions of the meeting seen by ChimpReports, DRC will “nominate three Engineers to represent the country in the SGR Cluster meetings by 30th December 2023.”
DRC will also share with Uganda the schedule of implementation of the SGR network to enable the harmonisation of railway standards with Uganda by March 2024.
Both countries’ technical teams will as well undertake joint site visits at the border points by March 2024.
The decision to encourage DRC to take part in the railway project was taken during the SGR cluster meeting in Kampala in May, 2023.
This was after experts realised that the SGR lines being planned by Uganda, Kenya and Kenya terminated at the borders of DRC.
These include Uganda, whose SGR line will move from Malaba via Kampala, Bihanga, and Kasese to Mpondwe at the border with the DRC.
Tanzania has already completed feasibility studies and preliminary designs for Phase 2, which will see the country construct 506 km of the railway line from Tabora to Kigoma, connecting to Lake Tanganyika.
The Kinshasa meeting was attended by 12 Ministers from Uganda led by Rt. Hon. Rebecca Alitwala Kadaga, First Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for East Africa Community Affairs, and 18 Ministers from DRC led by Hon. Antipas Mbusa Nyamwisi, Minister for Regional Integration.
Resources
Although DRC is resource-rich with large supplies of copper, cobalt, and gold, as well as the world’s second-largest rainforest, its people remain relatively poor due to poor transport infrastructure and a lack of access to regional markets.
Experts believe that the participation of the DRC in the early stages of the implementation of the SGR will boost efforts in sourcing funding and strengthen cooperation in the development of feasibility studies for the project.
“DRC is a member of the EAC community, and several railway line routes end up on the DRC border,” said the SGR Project coordinator, Eng. Canon Perez Wamburu, in an interview with ChimpReports in May 2023.
“We would like to see DRC take part in these initiatives so that they can also create awareness about the project in their country,” he added.
“DRC is an important partner in our region, and we think they will show interest in the railway project to possibly extend the line deep in their country.”
The Kinshasa decisions are seen as a big step forward in enhancing trade relations between the East and West African countries, mainly by reducing the time it takes for goods to be transported within the continent as well as to other regions.
As of now, intra-African trade accounts for about 15% of total African trade.
The Coordinator of the Northern Corridor Infrastructure Projects at Uganda’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Amb Richard Kabonero said investing in infrastructure links within the region is critical to unlocking our region’s economic potential.
Kabonero said prioritising the development of roads, railways, waterways, aviation, and ICTs, we can reduce the cost of doing business, increase trade, and stimulate economic growth.
“Let us work together to revitalise the NCIPs framework and come up with detailed plans for infrastructure development and secure the financing needed to make it a reality,” he added.
In 2022, the EAC admitted the DRC, which is the fourth-largest country in Africa by population (95 million), to the regional economic bloc.
The DRC is one of Uganda’s biggest trading partners in East Africa, with Uganda exporting mainly cement, palm oil, beer, sugar, iron and steel, rice, iron and steel (scrap), cocoa beans and natural rubber.
During 2017, for instance, Uganda exported goods worth $188.98m (Shs685bn) to DRC while imports from DRC to Uganda stood at $156.5m. However, this has exponentially grown, with Uganda’s exports to DRC increasing to $338.56m in 2021.
Source: Chimpreports