Unveiling the $12 Billion China‑Congo Industrial City

On 23 October 2025, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) entered a new industrial era when Prime Minister Judith Suminwa Tuluka supervised the signing of a construction agreement with the Sino-Congo Special Zone (SCSZ) consortium.

The contract authorises development of the China‑Congo Industrial City, a 75‑km² special economic zone stretching from Kinshasa eastward towards Maluku. According to the SCSZ and the Congolese government, the first phase alone represents a US$12 billion investment, will host 1,200 industrial units, and could create up to 150,000 direct and indirect jobs. This agreement signifies the DRC’s commitment to transitioning beyond a primarily extractive economy and positioning Kinshasa as the hub of regional manufacturing and logistics.

Background: the Kinshasa expansion and the SCSZ consortium

The industrial city is part of Kinshasa Kia Mona, an ambitious US$50 billion extension project designed to decongest the capital. The extension will build a new city on 43,000 ha of land in Maluku, about 45 km east of Kinshasa. Radio Okapi reports that the modern extension is designed to house up to 5 million residents and is being financed through public‑private partnerships rather than the state budget. Besides residential and commercial neighbourhoods, the master plan includes a financial district, hospitals, a university, and an industrial city with 1,500 factories, expected to generate approximately 30,000 jobs upon launch.

The industrial component will be built by the Sino‑Congo Special Zone (SCSZ), a consortium formed by Chinese investors led by China State Construction Engineering and Congolese partners. In September 2025, Bankable revealed that the zone was initially costed at US$8 billion, encompassing eight industrial parks across 5,000 ha, a 2,000-ha commercial district, and a 500‑ha workers’ quarter. The 7,500-ha site enjoys easy access to the Congo River and major roads and will offer tax and customs incentives as a special economic zone. The new October agreement increases the project’s budget to US$12 billion and clarifies that the industrial city will cover 75 km² (7,500 ha), demonstrating the government’s expanded ambitions.

Details of the deal: scale, structure, and jobs

Under the terms of the 23 October convention, the China‑Congo Industrial City will:

• Occupy 75 km² (7,500 ha) during its first phase, making it one of the largest industrial sites in Central Africa

• Mobilise US$12 billion in investment, funded by a mix of the SCSZ consortium and Congolese private partners.

• Build 1,200 industrial units catering to agro‑industry, light manufacturing, metals processing, and technology.. Earlier plans envisaged eight industrial parks and a 5,000-ha factory zone, giving a sense of scale.

• Create 150,000 jobs, directly and indirectly, once construction and production ramp up. Earlier projections for the broader project estimated 30,000 immediate jobs and 100,000 within a decade, while the Kinshasa Kia Mona plan aims for tens of thousands of jobs at launch and up to 225,000 over ten years.

The industrial city will operate under special economic zone (SEZ) status, offering tax and customs incentives and linking investors to deep‑water port facilities on the Congo River. Its integration into the larger Kinshasa expansion means that factories will be backed by new roads, housing, and utilities, and will serve a metropolitan area designed to become a smart, sustainable, and carbon‑efficient city.

High‑profile Congolese leadership and national ownership

The signing ceremony, held at the Prime Minister’s Office, was a show of national unity. In addition to Prime Minister Judith Suminwa, a former World Bank economist now stewarding President Félix Tshisekedi’s second term, the event brought together senior members of the Suminwa II government:

Congolese leaders:

1. Adolphe Muzito: Vice Prime Minister and Minister of Budget, ensuring fiscal oversight of the project.

2. Alexis Gisaro: Minister of Urbanism & Housing, responsible for urban planning

3. John Banza Lunda: Minister of Infrastructure & Public Works.

4. Marc Ekila: Minister of Vocational Training, charged with aligning education programmes with the industrial city’s workforce needs

5. Aimé Sakombi Molendo: Minister of Hydraulic Resources & Electricity; his presence underscores the project’s demand for reliable power.

6. Jean‑Lucien Bussa: Minister of Land Use Planning, tasked with land allocation.

7. Justin Kalumba: Minister of Entrepreneurship & SMEs, ensuring opportunities for Congolese firms.

8. O’neige Nsele: Minister of Land Affairs; vital for securing titles across the 7,500-ha site.

9. Julie Mbuyi: Minister of the Wallet (Portefeuille), overseeing state‑owned enterprises and shareholdings.

10. Daniel Bumba: Governor of Kinshasa; his participation signals provincial commitment.

The coordination mechanism is equally significant. The convention gives APCSC, the Agency for the Steering, Coordination and Monitoring of Cooperation Agreements, and the Comité Stratégique pour la Supervision du Projet d’Extension de la Ville de Kinshasa (CSSPEVK) oversight of implementation. The U.S. State Department’s investment climate report notes that APCSC was created on 1 March 2022 to oversee cooperation agreements with private partners in infrastructure and natural resources. During the signing, Freddy Shembo Yodi, the APCSC’s director, reaffirmed the agency’s role in coordinating the industrial city, ensuring transparency and alignment with national priorities.

Strategic objectives: decongestion, jobs, and regional leadership

The China‑Congo Industrial City serves several strategic purposes:

1. Decongesting Kinshasa – The capital’s population has ballooned to over 15 million residents, leading to severe traffic congestion and informal settlements. The Kinshasa Kia Mona expansion is designed to relocate population and industries eastwards and to build a planned city that can absorb growth.

2. Massive job creation – By hosting 1,200 factories and supporting local suppliers, the industrial city is expected to generate 150,000 jobs. This would absorb some of the DRC’s rapidly growing workforce and reduce dependence on the mining sector, which currently accounts for more than 90 % of export revenue.

3. Economic diversification and sovereignty – The project targets agro‑industry, food processing, construction materials, steel fabrication, pharmaceuticals, and digital technologies. By localising value‑added production, the DRC seeks to move away from a pure commodity‑export model, regain control over its supply chains, and reduce its reliance on external imports.

4. Regional industrial hub – With direct access to the Congo River and international transport corridors, the industrial city aims to position Kinshasa as a gateway for Central Africa, rivaling ports and free zones in the region. By exporting finished products rather than raw minerals, the DRC could become a leader in regional trade and manufacturing.

Fulfilling the Tshisekedi‑Suminwa vision

President Félix Tshisekedi’s second term emphasises “economic sovereignty and the emergence of a productive, resilient economy”. The third pillar of Prime Minister Judith Suminwa’s government action programme commits to building strategic infrastructure and fostering industrialisation. The CSSPEVK statement stresses that the signature of the China‑Congo Industrial City convention materialises the President’s vision and the Suminwa government’s commitment. In other words, industrialisation is not an abstract aspiration but a concrete project with land, capital, and governance structures already mobilised.

This initiative also fits within broader reforms. The Suminwa II cabinet, unveiled in August 2025, brought former opposition figure Adolphe Muzito into government as vice prime minister for the budget. Such inclusivity signals a pragmatic national unity around development goals. Moreover, the creation of APCSC and CSSPEVK shows that the state is building institutions capable of supervising complex partnerships, countering perceptions that Chinese deals lack transparency.

Voices from the ceremony

To underscore the project’s significance, officials at the ceremony offered stirring remarks:

Conclusion: Congo rising

The signing of the China‑Congo Industrial City agreement marks a milestone in the DRC’s pursuit of industrialisation. Anchored in the Kinshasa Kia Mona master plan, the US$12 billion project will decongest the capital, provide tens of thousands of jobs, and turn Kinshasa into a modern economic hub. Its scale, governance, and alignment with President Tshisekedi’s vision make it more than a construction project; it is a statement that Congo will rise through production rather than plunder, reclaiming its rightful place as an engine of growth in Central Africa. With diligent implementation and inclusive planning, the China‑Congo Industrial City could become the cornerstone of a new Congolese industrial revolution.