1. Legal framework

a. Road transport

Law 78-022 of 30 August 1978 on the new Highway Code, which came into force on 25 July 1979, regulates the circulation on the public highway of pedestrians, vehicles, as well as draught, load or saddle animals and livestock.

b. Rail Transport

In the DRC, the railway sector is under a state monopoly regime. The Sovereign King’s decree of 10 October 1908 on the railway police, coordinating the previous measures on the railway police as modified respectively by Orders 82/TP of 18 September 1928 and 41/06 of 13 February 1954 on the same subject, is the main legislative text governing railway transport activities, on the one hand either by the International Union of Railways, the African Union of Railways, or by the public railway transport companies themselves.

c. Air Transport

Law No. 10/014 of 31 December 2010 on civil aviation to, among other things, provide the country with appropriate and effective aeronautical legislation governs the sector.

d. Maritime transport

Ordinance-Law 66-98 of 14 March 1966 on the Maritime Navigation Code constitutes the basic framework of maritime transport legislation in the DRC.

e. River and lake transport

Ordinance-Law 66-96 of 14 March 1966 on the River and Lake Navigation Code forms the backbone of the legislation in this sector.

2. Potentials and assets

Les Investment opportunities are justified on the basis of the countless transport infrastructures available in the country and in the various networks.

• Road network: 152,400 Km of road
  • 7,400 km of urban roads;
  • 58,129 km of public roads;
  • 86,871 km of local interest or agricultural feeder roads.
• Railway network: 5,033 km of railway tracks, not interconnected and not having the same standards (1.067 m, 1m and 0.6 m gauge):
  • A line linking Matadi to Kinshasa, 365km long with a 1.067m gauge;
  • A line with a more extensive network linking Zambia, Angola and Lake Tanganyika, with Lubumbashi as the central point.This network extends over 3. 641 kilometers (of which 858 kilometers are electrified) in Katanga, Kasaï-Occidental, Kasaï-Oriental and Maniema.

It is 1.067 m apart:

• Katanga line: it goes from Kabalo - Kamina - Kolwezi- Likasi - Lubumbashi - Sakania - Zambia;
• Kasaï line: it connects Ilebo - Kananga - Mwene-Ditu - Kamina;
• Benguela Railway: Kamina - Dilolo - Angola (Benguela Railway);
• Kindu- Kongolo- Kabalo- Nyunzu- Kalemia Railway;
• Kindu- Kongolo- Kabalo- Kabongo- Kamina Railway;
• A line linking Kisangani to Ubundu with 1m gauge;
• A narrow-gauge line in the Uélé region (0.6m gauge);
• Bumba- Aketi- Bondo;
• Bumba- Aketi- Buta- Isiro- Wemba.

Maritime, river and lake network: 16,238 km:

• The Banana-Matadi maritime reach (150 km);
• The middle reaches of the Congo River (Kinshasa-Kisangani): ± 1700 km, the Kasaï River and their tributaries (11,758 km); and
• The upper reaches of the Lualaba and the lakes (2,630 km).

It also includes:

• 40 river and lake ports including Kinshasa, Ilebo, Kalemie, Kisangani, Mbandaka, Ubundu and Kindu;
• 3 seaports: Matadi, Boma and Banana;
• 24 waterways which are the main alternatives to roads and railways;
• The 106 km long Lake Kivu lake network linking Bukavu to Goma; the 1,425 km long Lake Tanganyika network linking the DRC to Zambia, Tanzania and Burundi;
• The river network from Kindu to Ubundu (310 kilometers) and from Kongolo to Malemba-Nkulu (390 kilometers); and
• A multitude of private ports.
• Air network: approximately 270 airport facilities, including five international airports, located in the following cities: Kinshasa, Lubumbashi, Kisangani, Goma and Gbadolité.
• The Northern Corridor: transport corridor linking the port of Mombasa to the Great Lakes Region;
• The Southern Corridor: transport corridor linking the DRC, through Kasumbalesa, to Southern Africa;
• The Central Corridor: transport corridor leading to the port of Dar Es Salaam via Zambia;
• The Western Corridor: transport corridor linking the DRC to Angola.
• Corridors opening up the DRC to the outside world

3. Achievements

• Rehabilitation of several airport facilities in the country, including: NDJILI airport in Kinshasa (terminal, control tower and runways); Goma airport (widening of runway); Luano airport in Lubumbashi (widening of runway); and Bangboka airport in Kisangani;
• The creation of the national airline called "Congo Airways";
• Creation of the TRANSCO Company to make up for the lack of buses in the City-Province of Kinshasa;
• Abolition of illegal taxes and charges in the river and lake transport sector;
• Rehabilitation of roads;
• Vehicle credit granted by the Congolese State to private road transport operators;
• Rehabilitation of the ITB Kokolo boat, cost: USD 2.5 million;
• The reopening of the Benguela railway line following the agreement between the Angolan State and the Congolese State;
• Subsidy for the equipment of 10 locomotives in favor of the SNCC.

4. Perspectives

• Develop a new public transport policy reconciling efficiency/profitability and social aspects, as well as the provision of incentives to attract private investment in the sector, especially in mass transport systems such as urban rail, tramway and urban waterway transport;
• Improving the state of urban roads to reduce the depreciation cost of vehicles and to improve traffic flow;
• Increasing the number of cars in the public transport portfolio;
• Encourage private operators to invest in the sector within the framework of public-private partnerships, particularly in mass transport systems;
• Strengthen the rolling stock and spare parts capacity of public transport operators with nearly 1,500 buses in 5 years, at a rate of 300 buses per year;
• Create a national fund for the promotion of public transport, financed by tolls on some national roads and public car parks in large cities;
• Rehabilitate and modernize the SCTP’s urban train;
• Implement the SCTP’s urban river transport system to lighten surface transport;
• Extend the Kin-Matadi railway line to Banana for the construction of the deep-water port, etc.;
• Extend the Kin-Matadi railway line to Banana for the construction of the deep-water port.