The DRC’s Kinshasa expansion authority has signed a memorandum of understanding with Canadian company Quest Water Global covering the proposed Mutombo Arena, three NBA-standard basketball courts, a technology manufacturing and assembly unit, community drinking-water systems and skills-transfer programmes in Kinshasa Kia Mona.
KINSHASA, Democratic Republic of the Congo — November 13, 2026 — The Democratic Republic of the Congo is expanding the development vision for Kinshasa Kia Mona through a new partnership combining sport, industry, clean water and professional training.
The Strategic Committee for the Supervision of the Kinshasa City Expansion Project, known by its French acronym CSSPEVK, announced that it signed a memorandum of understanding with Canadian company Quest Water Global on November 6 in Kinshasa.
The agreement establishes a preliminary cooperation framework for five connected initiatives: the proposed Mutombo Arena, three basketball courts meeting NBA standards, a technology manufacturing and assembly plant, community drinking-water infrastructure and programmes for training and transferring technical skills to Congolese personnel.
According to the official CSSPEVK announcement, the agreement was signed by CSSPEVK Principal Coordinator Thierry Katembwe Mbala and Quest Water Global Chief Operating Officer and Executive Director Isaac Kalonji Jr III.
The partnership forms part of Kinshasa Kia Mona, the Government’s planned extension of the capital across 43,300 hectares in Maluku. The project is designed to support the orderly growth of Kinshasa through new residential areas, economic zones, essential services, industrial facilities and modern infrastructure.
The memorandum confirms the areas in which CSSPEVK and Quest Water Global intend to cooperate. Detailed budgets, technical designs, exact sites, financing arrangements and construction schedules are expected to be defined during the next implementation stages.
One agreement built around three development pillars
CSSPEVK organised the memorandum around three strategic pillars that respond to different priorities within the future city.
The first pillar concerns sports infrastructure. It provides for the proposed Mutombo Arena, envisioned as a multipurpose facility, together with three NBA-standard basketball courts.
SPORTS
Kinshasa Kia Mona Deal Adds Mutombo Arena, Factory and Water
13 nov. 2026
13 nov. 2026
14 min read
Publié
Mis à jour:
The DRC’s Kinshasa expansion authority has signed a memorandum of understanding with Canadian company Quest Water Global covering the proposed Mutombo Arena, three NBA-standard basketball courts, a technology manufacturing and assembly unit, community drinking-water systems and skills-transfer programmes in Kinshasa Kia Mona.
KINSHASA, Democratic Republic of the Congo — November 13, 2026 — The Democratic Republic of the Congo is expanding the development vision for Kinshasa Kia Mona through a new partnership combining sport, industry, clean water and professional training.
The Strategic Committee for the Supervision of the Kinshasa City Expansion Project, known by its French acronym CSSPEVK, announced that it signed a memorandum of understanding with Canadian company Quest Water Global on November 6 in Kinshasa.
The agreement establishes a preliminary cooperation framework for five connected initiatives: the proposed Mutombo Arena, three basketball courts meeting NBA standards, a technology manufacturing and assembly plant, community drinking-water infrastructure and programmes for training and transferring technical skills to Congolese personnel.
According to the official CSSPEVK announcement, the agreement was signed by CSSPEVK Principal Coordinator Thierry Katembwe Mbala and Quest Water Global Chief Operating Officer and Executive Director Isaac Kalonji Jr III.
The partnership forms part of Kinshasa Kia Mona, the Government’s planned extension of the capital across 43,300 hectares in Maluku. The project is designed to support the orderly growth of Kinshasa through new residential areas, economic zones, essential services, industrial facilities and modern infrastructure.
The memorandum confirms the areas in which CSSPEVK and Quest Water Global intend to cooperate. Detailed budgets, technical designs, exact sites, financing arrangements and construction schedules are expected to be defined during the next implementation stages.
One agreement built around three development pillars
CSSPEVK organised the memorandum around three strategic pillars that respond to different priorities within the future city.
The first pillar concerns sports infrastructure. It provides for the proposed Mutombo Arena, envisioned as a multipurpose facility, together with three NBA-standard basketball courts.
The second pillar concerns industrial and technological development. The partners plan to establish a unit for manufacturing, assembly and technology integration, with the objective of building local productive capacity and supporting the development of Congolese technical expertise.
The third pillar concerns community and environmental infrastructure. It includes decentralised drinking-water systems, a water treatment and supply component using Quest Water Global’s AQUAtap’nGo technology, and training programmes intended to strengthen local capacity.
Together, the three pillars give the partnership a practical development identity. Sport can create spaces for young people and major events. Industry can establish local production and technical employment. Drinking-water infrastructure can support households, schools, public facilities and economic activity.
This integrated approach reflects the wider purpose of Kinshasa Kia Mona: to build a planned urban extension in which services and economic infrastructure are developed alongside housing and population growth.
Mutombo Arena would honour a global Congolese legacy
The proposed Mutombo Arena gives the agreement strong national and international symbolism.
Dikembe Mutombo became one of the most respected African players in NBA history and a global ambassador for Congolese excellence. His sporting achievements, humanitarian work and commitment to young people made his name a source of pride for the DRC far beyond basketball.
PUBLICITÉ
An arena bearing his name in Kinshasa Kia Mona would connect that legacy to a new generation of Congolese athletes. As a multipurpose venue, it could also support cultural events, community programmes and other large gatherings once the project’s final design and operating model are established.
The three proposed NBA-standard courts complement a wider basketball initiative already underway in the country. In October, NBA Africa and Quest Water Global announced a multiyear programme to build or renovate 55 full-size and three-on-three basketball courts across the DRC by 2030 in honour of Mutombo, whose jersey number was 55.
The first court under that initiative was unveiled on September 29 at Cercle Onatra in Kinshasa, where Mutombo began playing basketball with BC Onatra. Quest Water Global was named NBA Africa’s official infrastructure development partner in the DRC.
The Kinshasa Kia Mona memorandum is a separate project framework, but it benefits from that established relationship between Quest Water Global, NBA Africa and Congolese basketball. It also places sport within a larger plan involving water, industry and skills.
For young Congolese, the importance of modern courts goes beyond competition. Safe and well-equipped facilities can support coaching, school programmes, talent identification, health, teamwork and community life.
A manufacturing and assembly unit for local capacity
The proposed industrial component could become one of the agreement’s most important long-term contributions.
CSSPEVK says the partners intend to establish a unit for manufacturing, assembly and technological integration. The purpose is to strengthen local production, support innovation and develop the human skills required to operate and maintain the technologies introduced through the partnership.
The exact products, production capacity and investment value of the planned unit have not yet been announced. Those details are expected to emerge through technical studies and the project-development process.
The direction, however, is clear: equipment and infrastructure intended for the DRC should create opportunities for Congolese workers, technicians, suppliers and businesses wherever possible.
Local assembly can reduce dependence on fully imported systems, shorten maintenance chains and enable the country to build practical knowledge around the technologies it uses. Training linked to manufacturing can also prepare Congolese professionals for work in installation, quality control, operations and after-sales service.
This approach supports the Government’s wider industrial policy, which seeks to transform investment into production, jobs and national expertise. Kinshasa Kia Mona is intended not only as a new urban space, but also as a platform for industrial activity and private-sector growth.
XTRAfrica previously reported on the China–Congo Industrial City planned within Kinshasa Kia Mona, highlighting the importance of manufacturing zones, local value creation and job-generating infrastructure in the capital’s eastern expansion.
The Quest Water Global memorandum adds another potential industrial building block to that vision. Its scale will become clearer when feasibility work, financing and technical specifications are completed.
Community water systems for a growing urban area
Drinking water is another central element of the agreement.
Quest Water Global specialises in decentralised water-treatment and supply systems. Its planned contribution to Kinshasa Kia Mona includes community water infrastructure using the company’s AQUAtap’nGo technology.
PUBLICITÉ
According to Quest Water Global’s public company profile, its systems are designed to provide decentralised water solutions for communities and institutions. The company has operated from Vancouver since 2008 and has focused part of its work on African markets.
For Kinshasa Kia Mona, decentralised systems could complement the larger water networks planned for the new city. Such installations can serve specific communities or public facilities while wider urban water infrastructure is developed.
CSSPEVK has already placed drinking water at the centre of the Kinshasa Kia Mona master plan. In its water-infrastructure planning update, the committee said the future city is being designed around an integrated water strategy covering production, treatment, storage and distribution.
The broader planning vision targets an eventual drinking-water production capacity of 500,000 cubic metres per day for the Maluku development area. That citywide target is separate from the Quest Water Global memorandum, whose exact water capacity has not yet been published.
The new partnership therefore adds a decentralised community component to a larger public planning framework. As the project advances, technical studies can determine where these systems will have the greatest impact and how they will connect with the future city’s wider water network.
Reliable drinking water can improve public health, support schools and healthcare facilities, reduce time spent collecting water and make economic activity more productive. In a new urban development, planning this infrastructure early helps ensure that essential services grow with the population.
XTRAfrica’s reporting on the DRC’s planned investment in rural water, electricity and infrastructure shows how access to basic services is becoming a central part of the country’s development agenda in both urban and rural communities.
Training and transfer of expertise for Congolese professionals
The memorandum also provides for training, capacity building and skills transfer.
This commitment is important because new infrastructure produces lasting national value when Congolese teams can install, operate, repair and improve it.
The planned programmes could support technicians working on water systems, industrial equipment and technological integration. The specific number of trainees, institutions involved and certification arrangements will be defined as the partners convert the memorandum into operational projects.
Skills transfer can also create a bridge between the projects and Congolese universities, technical schools, vocational institutes and local companies. By building the workforce alongside the infrastructure, the partnership can help keep knowledge and employment within the country.
The same principle applies to sports development. Modern courts and an arena achieve more when they are supported by trained coaches, facility managers, event professionals, maintenance teams and youth-development programmes.
The agreement therefore links physical construction with human capital. That combination strengthens the possibility that each project will create benefits beyond its opening ceremony.
Kinshasa Kia Mona as a platform for planned growth
Kinshasa Kia Mona is being developed in Maluku over approximately 43,300 hectares, or 430 square kilometres. CSSPEVK presents it as the principal public planning instrument for expanding a capital whose population and infrastructure needs continue to grow rapidly.
PUBLICITÉ
The vision includes housing, industrial zones, public services, transport connections, logistics infrastructure, green areas and economic centres. Its purpose is to guide growth toward an organised urban area with the roads, water, energy and public facilities required by residents and businesses.
President Félix-Antoine Tshisekedi recently highlighted Kinshasa Kia Mona as part of the DRC’s wider climate and development strategy. As XTRAfrica reported from COP31, the President presented the project as a greener model for a growing capital, linking urban planning with environmental protection, resilient infrastructure and economic opportunity.
Other partnerships are already contributing to the project’s preparation. On November 4, the Port of Antwerp-Bruges International transmitted the basis of pre-feasibility work for a planned multimodal logistics base in Maluku. The concept includes a logistics area of approximately 1,000 hectares, industrial zones and an agricultural belt.
These initiatives are designed to serve different but complementary functions. The logistics platform would connect production and trade. Industrial zones would provide space for companies. Water infrastructure would support communities and economic activity. Sports facilities would contribute to youth development, public life and the identity of the future city.
The Quest Water Global agreement brings these elements together on a smaller, highly visible scale by pairing community infrastructure with industry and sport.
Congolese businesses positioned to participate
Local private-sector participation is also becoming part of the Kinshasa Kia Mona framework.
On November 9, CSSPEVK signed a memorandum with the Guarantee Fund for Entrepreneurship in Congo, known as FOGEC, to facilitate the participation of Congolese companies in the development of the new city.
According to the Congolese Press Agency, the arrangement is intended to improve access to financing and guarantees for micro, small and medium-sized enterprises seeking to participate in Kinshasa Kia Mona projects.
That framework can help translate major partnerships into opportunities for Congolese contractors, suppliers, technicians and entrepreneurs. For the Quest Water Global projects, potential local participation could include construction, logistics, equipment installation, maintenance, training and community services, depending on the final contracts and procurement arrangements.
Connecting international expertise with Congolese enterprise is essential to the Government’s objective of generating durable employment and productive capacity from major infrastructure investments.
What the memorandum confirms—and what comes next
The November 6 memorandum is a signed cooperation framework. It confirms the partners’ intention to develop the Mutombo Arena, three NBA-standard courts, an industrial manufacturing and assembly unit, community water systems and training programmes within Kinshasa Kia Mona.
It does not yet constitute the completion of these projects or the announcement of a construction start date.
As LePoint.cd reported, the initial communication did not specify the overall budget, detailed schedule or exact sites assigned to each component. Those elements will need to be established through studies, negotiations, financing arrangements and implementation contracts.
The next milestones are expected to include:
technical and feasibility studies for the arena, courts, factory and water systems;
identification and validation of the project sites within Kinshasa Kia Mona;
definition of financing and investment structures;
environmental and social assessments where required;
detailed training and skills-transfer programmes;
procurement, construction and operating arrangements; and
publication of implementation schedules and measurable delivery targets.
This sequencing is normal for a development partnership of this scope. The memorandum creates the institutional basis for CSSPEVK and Quest Water Global to prepare bankable and technically defined projects.
