The DR Congo government is looking for a firm to repair and modernize the Bumba-Aketi-Buta-Mungbere railway, stretching 870 km in the northeast part of the country. On May 2, 2025, Kinshasa launched an international tender to find a company. 

The line, with a 0.60 m gauge and rails ranging from 18 to 33 kg/m, once anchored the region’s economy by moving agricultural and mining products, but has fallen into disrepair since the late 1990s.

The Ministry of Transport said contractors must have at least 10 years of major rail project experience and proven technical and financial strength. The project scope may include additional feasibility studies, upgrades to track, signaling, and telecoms, and the establishment of a sustainable operating model, such as a PPP, concession, or other institutional arrangement. The deadline for applications is June 30, 2025.

The project ultimately aims to open up Bas-Uélé and Haut-Uélé, strengthen inland rail connectivity, and lay the groundwork for sustainable transport in one of the DRC’s most isolated regions. 

Reviving this line would unlock new opportunities for supply, marketing, and processing for local economic actors, crossing areas rich in forestry, agriculture, and mining-including gold in Watsa and Mungbere-and could improve links to the port of Mombasa via Uganda.

From 1924 to the late 1990s, this railway line structured the economy of the Uélé provinces, facilitating the evacuation of agricultural and mining products. Its gradual deterioration led to the collapse of Société des chemins de fer Uélé-Fleuve (SCFUF), formerly known as Vicicongo.

This article was initially published in French by Boaz Kabeya (intern) and Timothée Manoke (intern)

Edited in English by Ola Schad Akinocho