DR Congo launches billion-dollar deep-water port

Emery Makumeno

BBC News, Kinshasa

The Democratic Republic of Congo has launched construction of its first deep-water port. 

The port of Banana is a $1bn (£750m) project that is intended to boost local and international trade.

The contractor, Dubai Port World, will be completing the first phase of the infrastructure by 2025.

This 18-metre deep seaport is located on an isthmus, at the mouth of the Congo River, a narrow strip of land with the Atlantic Ocean, on one side and the Congo River on the other. 

According to Chérubin Okende, DR Congo's transportation minister, the port of Banana represents an opportunity to boost investment and trade.

Many here believe that the infrastructure will help lower the prices of imported goods and equipment in the country. 

The delivery of the first phase of the deep-water port is expected in three years.

For decades, DR Congo relied on other African countries for the docking of sea-liners and container ships. 

The second largest country in Africa has been expecting this infrastructure for more than four decades.

This article originally appeared on BBC News

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