• Regideso plans to build a bottled water plant in Kinshasa, with construction potentially starting within three to four months.
• The utility will deploy 80,000 to 90,000 prepaid smart water meters, mainly for public administrations and institutional clients.
• Authorities aim to reduce financial dependence on government payments, which Regideso says can arrive 10 to 12 months late.

During a television program broadcast on March 4, on Top Congo, the Water Distribution Authority (Regideso) Director General David Tshilumba Mutombo said the company is preparing a tender dossier for the project’s implementation.

He said the company could begin construction and assembly works within three to four months. The project will include a bottle recycling system designed to collect used packaging across the city of Kinshasa.

Regideso ultimately intends to replicate this industrial model in several other cities across the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Regideso also plans to develop Payment Service Provider (PSP) technology, which would allow the company to offer electronic payment services. David Tshilumba said the initiative could create an additional revenue stream for the company.

As part of this diversification strategy, Regideso has also created a subsidiary dedicated to electricity production called RégiEnergies.

The company launched these initiatives to reduce its financial dependence on government payments. David Tshilumba described the state as “a bad payer.” “When the state does not pay, it disrupts our business plan, our annual budget and our performance,” he said. He added that government payments sometimes arrive with delays of 10 to 12 months.

Regideso also plans to install smart water meters operating mainly on a prepaid basis. The company expects to receive between 80,000 and 90,000 units within three to four months.

Authorities will install the meters in public administrations and certain institutional clients. The system will operate under a prepaid model in which water access depends on available credit on the meter.

“Like a mobile phone: if there are no units, the meter does not work. No units, no water,” David Tshilumba said.

Ronsard Luabeya (Bankable)