Mobility challenges in Kinshasa

Mobility challenges are recurring in the Congolese capital, where urban expansion increases the need for public transport. The city's growing population and limited transport infrastructure have created a pressing demand for more efficient and reliable transportation solutions.

New contracts for the Kinshasa urban train

On Thursday, October 8, several contracts related to the implementation of the Kinshasa urban train project were signed in the presence of the Congolese minister of Transport, Jean-Pierre Bemba. These include a support and guarantee agreement between the state and the MetroKin company, as well as an interface contract to organize the coordination of operations between the central station and the N'Djili international airport.

Collaboration between key agencies

The interface contract provides modalities of collaboration between MetroKin, the Airway Authority (RVA), and the National Transport Office (Onatra). The support and guarantee agreement formalizes the state's commitment to support the project, involving the ministries of Transport, Portfolio, and Finance.

MetroKin's capacity and goals

Scheduled to transport 520,000 people per day in its first phase, the MetroKin project aims to develop collective transport solutions. It adds to the tramway project, both aiming to meet the needs of a metropolis where mobility still largely relies on roads.

Distinct but complementary projects

The two initiatives are distinct, and their coordination modalities remain to be specified, particularly on the axes where their coverage could overlap. The tramway project is expected to strengthen transport supply on several axes of the capital, as well as a connection with Lubumbashi.

Integration with road infrastructure

The ministry also plans an articulation of the network with road infrastructure. This complementarity could facilitate transfers between different transport modes and mobility to stations, then to final destinations.

Technical aspects of the project

On the technical level, the project includes tunnel boring machines, flood control devices, and a dedicated electrical supply for the network. The cost of these developments is not included in the available information.

Limited public transport capacity

These projects are emerging in a context where collective transport capacities remain limited compared to population needs. A 2019 report by the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) noted that Kinshasa had about 499 buses in 2018 for a population of 10.6 million.

Rapid population growth

The constraint has been further exacerbated by the demographic surge, with the city reaching, according to World Population Review, the threshold of 21 million inhabitants in 2026. The development of urban rail transport could diversify the existing offer in this country where the railway network extends over more than 5,000 km.

Reviving a railway link

In the meantime, Kinshasa has relaunched in July last year the approximately 25 km railway link between the central station and the N'Djili international airport, after 15 years of interruption. This provides a temporary solution on a specific axis, without addressing the mobility needs of the entire metropolitan area.

Funding challenges

For now, the most important challenges for the two projects consist of mobilizing funding. MetroKin should indeed require an investment of 2 billion USD, while the tramway will mobilize up to 9 billion USD.

Ensuring service quality

Likewise, the realization of infrastructure will not be sufficient to guarantee their usage: the fares, the regularity of the service, the safety and the possibilities of connection with existing transport will affect their attractiveness.

Need for coordination

The coordination between the two projects will be another challenge. The service to the N'Djili airport is included in the devices associated with MetroKin and in the ambitions announced for the tramway. A clear articulation of the routes and stations will therefore be necessary to limit the risks of overlap and to promote the complementarity of the networks.