Katanga governor Moïse Katumbi
JOHANNESBURG (miningweekly.com) – A new joint venture (JV) in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) intends answering the needs of the expanding mining sector for more power, road and rail.
The Fleurette group, advised by Dan Gertler who has been investing in the DRC since 1997, and Brazilian construction group Andrade Gutierrez told Mining Weekly Online in a media release that their new JV would focus on infrastructure development to accelerate the economy in the DRC, where mining companies are in urgent need of more power supply and where road infrastructure will soon be insufficient to transport planned mining output.
“This is the kind of investment we need,” said Moïse Katumbi, governor of the Katanga province, the country’s economic growth engine.
Investment bank Renaissance Capital will act as financial adviser to the JV and the 65-year-old Andrade Gutierrez, which has, in the last 12 months, completed 200 MW of thermal power plant, four airports and several road networks, as its lead developer.
“We very much look forward to progressing projects to completion, together with the DRC and Katanga administration,” said Gertler in a media release, which also made the point that an improved rail system would lower the cost of transporting mineral commodities out of the DRC to ports in East, West and Southern Africa.
The World Bank has estimated that repairs and maintenance on the DRC’s existing road networks would require an investment of some $400-million a year.
“There’s a real need for investment in infrastructure in the country to enable the resources sector to truly capitalise on the unique opportunity the DRC offers,” Andrade Gutierrez Africa CEO José Nicomedes commented.