DR Congo Unlocking Opportunity and Boosting Connectivity Around Ngandajika Agro-Industrial Park $160m Grant from AfDB

The African Development Bank Group has approved a $159.5 million loan to the Democratic Republic of the Congo to modernize transport links around the Ngandajika Agro-Industrial Park, is an investment expected to reshape economic life across the country’s central region.

With a total project cost of $177.16 million, co-financed with the Congolese government, the initiative aims to strengthen the park’s integration into key national and regional trade routes. Beyond transport upgrades, the project is being hailed as a catalyst for human development, political stability and broader social transformation. Opening pathways for farmers and communities.

At the heart of the initiative is a simple idea: better roads mean better lives. Improved access to the Nkuadi-Ngandajika-PAIN and Lukalaba-Ngandajika corridors, along with links to RN1 and RN2, will drastically cut travel time for farmers, traders and agro-processors who currently struggle with high transport costs and poor road conditions.

Extending the runway at Mbuji-Mayi airport will also allow faster, more efficient movement of high-value agricultural products. An unprecedented boost for local producers seeking to reach national and international markets.

To the communities in Lomami province and Kasaï Oriental, this translates into: lower food prices and safer travel, new markets for smallholder farmers, more secure livelihoods through improved access to buyers and suppliers and expanded opportunities for women and youth, who dominate local trade and food processing. It is a strategic political investment.

Apart from economic gains, the project carries strong political significance. By connecting remote agricultural zones to national corridors, the DRC positions itself to better implement its decentralization goals and strengthen the economic fabric of historically underserved regions.

“This project is more than a road” – said Léandre Bassolé, the African Development Bank’s Director General for Central Africa. “It reinforces sovereignty, deepens regional integration and builds the infrastructure backbone needed for long-term political and economic stability.”

The investment also aligns with continental priorities, contributing to the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) by enhancing mobility of goods and creating new trade corridors across Central Africa. Strengthening food security and local competitiveness.

Improved logistics are expected to attract new agro-industrial investors, reduce post-harvest losses and make Congolese agricultural products more competitive. According to project task manager Johnny Makwela, reliable transport infrastructure has been one of the park’s biggest constraints. “The new road links and expanded airport access will dramatically lower logistics costs and bring local producers closer to agro-industrial value chains” – he explained.

The project supports the African Development Bank’s Agricultural Transformation Programme (PTA) and complements the ongoing development of the Ngandajika Special Agro-Industrial Processing Zone (PRODAN). It also directly advances the Bank’s 2023-2028 Country Strategy Paper for the DRC. A move towards a more connected and inclusive future.

If successful, the project promises economic dividends, a meaningful social change, better mobility, more equitable access to opportunity and a stronger foundation for peace and prosperity in the DRC’s heartland.

In a region where poor infrastructure has long isolated communities, the investment points to a new chapter, where connectivity becomes a driver of inclusion for shared growth.