The African Development Bank Group has provided funding for the Lovua-Tshikapa section of the Batshamba-Tshikapa road project in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). The bank approved two grants and a loan amounting to $105.26 million at the end of last year.

The project involves developing 56km of the Batshamba-Tshikapa road between Lovua and Tshikapa on the National Road 1 (NR1) with the aim of opening up the Bandundu and West Kasaï Provinces. A bridge over the Kasaï River will also be constructed as part of the project.

The project aims to help the estimated 1 750 000 people living in the area; road transporters; the extractive industries sector; and the Congolese State.

The road improvement project is in line with the country’s transport policies framework which proposes massive transport infrastructure investments and the consolidation of sustainable development. The framework  is consistent with the pillars of the DRC’s Growth and Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper 2011-2015, namely the rehabilitation of old asphalted roads and the construction of new ones; traffic restoration by re-opening the earth-roads network; and protection and maintenance of roads in a good state of repair.

The project, funded by the UK Department for International Development (DFID) and the African Development Fund (ADF), is set be completed in December 2018 costing an estimated $105.26 million.