• DRC launches tender to build domestic train manufacturing plant
• Project aims to boost rail network, reduce logistics costs
• Rail industry seen as key to mining, regional trade expansion
  

The Democratic Republic of Congo’s Ministry of Transport, Communications, and Accessibility has launched an international tender to build a train assembly and manufacturing plant, marking what could be the start of an ambitious policy to develop a domestic rail industry in a country still heavily dependent on imported rolling stock.

The initiative is central to the DRC’s logistics ambitions and aims to ease severe transport challenges. The country’s road network, which carries most goods and passengers, suffers from poor conditions, urban congestion, and high logistics costs — factors that continue to undermine national competitiveness.

Reviving the rail network is seen as a long-term solution to these issues. In September 2025, the government reopened the 227-mile Kinshasa–Matadi line, which links the capital to the country’s main seaport, while also acquiring new rolling stock. The long-term plan is to extend this line to the deep-water port under construction in Banana, as part of efforts to streamline both domestic and international trade.

According to the ministry, the DRC’s rail network spans more than 3,100 miles, much of it underused and with several sections out of service. Outdated rolling stock, insufficient maintenance, and the absence of a domestic manufacturing base have long slowed the sector’s recovery.

The tender seeks the creation of assembly units capable of producing several dozen locomotives and wagons each year. It also requires technology and skills transfer to local engineers and technicians. Planned as a public-private partnership (PPP) lasting 25 to 30 years, the project calls for the development of a local ecosystem for maintenance, spare parts, and training.

Two locations are under consideration for the plant: Matadi, the country’s main Atlantic gateway, and Kalemie, a key railway hub in Tanganyika province.

While the assembly plant reflects the government’s drive for industrial transformation, its success depends on several prerequisites needed to create a sustainable domestic rail industry. These include developing a local industrial base to supply essential components such as axles and metal structures — industries that are currently almost non-existent.

It will also require training skilled workers in mechanical, electrical, and railway engineering to support an expanding industry. Without these foundations, the factory risks being limited to assembling imported components, generating little added value. By contrast, countries such as South Africa and Egypt built their rail industries through decades of investment in training and local manufacturing partnerships.

The project carries major regional significance as the DRC seeks to position itself as a key player in regional rail corridors, including the Lobito Corridor, linking Angola, Zambia, and the DRC, and the Tanganyika Corridor toward Tanzania. These developments could place the country at the center of a broader African logistics reconfiguration, connecting the mining regions of Katanga to both the Atlantic and Indian Oceans.

Beyond reinforcing the country’s control over its logistics sector, a domestic rail industry could also strengthen mining competitiveness by lowering transport costs for copper and cobalt — two resources vital to the global energy transition.

Henoc Dossa