Multinational - Feasability Study of the Extension of the Kinshasa-Ilebo Railway

The proposed study aims to carry out a railway survey over a distance of about 1,015 km, between Ilébo and Kinshasa. The link towards Ilebo is located along the Pointe-Noire-Kinshasa-Ilebo-Lubumbashi-Lusaka-Durban rail corridor. It will allow the Matadi-Kinshasa railway line to be extended all the way to this locality to attract mining traffic from the central part of DRC, promote trade towards the east and south-east of the country, and beyond, towards the eastern and southern parts of Africa. Various preliminary studies had been carried out in the past, but existing information on these studies is incomplete, scattered and sometimes too old. The study will allow for the proposal of structures of paramount importance for infrastructure and trade development policies in the DRC and the RC, and for those of several ECCAS countries, such as Gabon, Cameroon, Chad, and the CAR. The first phase of the railway study will comprise analysis of: (i) traffic data, social and economic information; (ii) aspects related to land use, topography, hydrology, geotechnics, climatic elements, construction materials, with a view to defining the different alignments possible and to proposing a preliminary design. The study will define the standard parameters for the design of the railway and determine the overall cost of construction. Following these analyses, the feasibility study report established will clearly outline the most viable alternative options with their related costs and advantages, as well as recommendations on the optimal solution to be implemented (in each case). The construction of these structures will: (i) promote trade between the two countries; (ii) improve continuity of the transport system along the Cameroon-Gabon-RC-DRC corridor, passing through Chad and the Central African Republic; (iii) strengthen regional integration and trade process, notably within ECCAS member countries and with the SADEC countries, and, finally, with COMESA countries.